Skillet Chili Mac

This is a recipe that I thought had a lot of potential.  I like Hamburger Helper's chili macaroni, and here was a homemade, from scratch version that looked like it had a lot of flavor from ingredients like sausage and peppers.  It is a one skillet dish, and is pretty easy to make.

The original recipe was taken from Deep South Dish.

Skillet Chili Mac
Serves 6-8*

Ingredients

• 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil
• 1-1/2 cups of chopped onion (about one medium sized onion)
• 1/2 cup of chopped bell pepper (I used some orange bell pepper I had already chopped in the freezer)
• 1 or 2 jalapenos, chopped (I used jalapenos from a jar, because I keep it stocked at our house)
  
• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1 pound of raw breakfast sausage
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
• 2-1/2 tablespoons of chili powder, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce
• 1 (7 ounce) can green chilies
• 2 cups of water
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1-1/2 cups of dry medium cut pasta (like elbow macaroni or shells)
• 1 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese, divided, or to taste, plus more for garnish (I used at least twice this much cheese)
  
• Optional Garnishes: Sliced green onions, fresh diced tomatoes, sour cream or your other favorite chili toppings

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large lidded skillet over medium high heat; add the onion and peppers, and cook for about 4 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. To that, add the ground beef, sausage and garlic, breaking up the meat and cooking, until no longer pink. Drain off any excess fat. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt and pepper; taste and adjust seasonings.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and green chilies; stir. Add the water, beans, pasta and half of the cheese. Bring to a boil, stir, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes or until pasta is cooked through; uncover, stir and let simmer, uncovered, until reduced to desired consistency. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top, cover and cook over low until cheese melts. Garnish and serve.

The Verdict

It was okay, but nothing special.  The recipe as-is was not spicy enough or cheesy enough for my liking.  I have been adding more spices (cayenne and chili powder) and cheese whenever I eat leftovers.  The sausage also added a flavor that I didn't think went very well with the other flavors.  I wouldn't make this again the same way, but I would potentially take some elements from this (like the kidney beans and jalapenos) and add it to Cowboy Food (a Hamburger Helper-like family recipe, which I will probably post someday).  

I garnished mine with more cheese and some fresh green onion

*The author noted that her recipes typically make 6-8 servings.  In my opinion, this made WAY more than that!  We have eaten at least that many hearty portions, and still have several portions left.  In fact, I'm getting tired of eating it but it seems like it will never end!