Spaghetti Meat Sauce & Kraft Dinner Casserole

Whenever I go away on vacation, I leave my son a casserole to start his meals off.  A co-worker told me this recipe when he was young.  I was always looking for quick, easy, tasty, kid friendly ideas.  This was one and we both loved it.  I don't make it now, because I don't used processed foods much any longer, but today this really suited the purpose, and it was nostalgic to me in the sense of his childhood.  It's nice to enjoy food memories from the past at times.  It's very simple:

• 2 lbs of ground beef (I used lean)
• 2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce
• Pinch of crushed chili flakes (I didn't use these when he was little)
• Fresh cracked pepper
• 2 boxes Kraft Dinner (original), cooked to package directions
• Grated old & extra old cheddar cheese, I used 2 cups
• Emmentaler Swiss cheese, 1 cup  (normally I just use cheddar but this was in the fridge, so I added it too)

That's the gist.  Sometimes, I fry onions, green pepper and garlic with hamburger but not this time.  Sometimes I use leftover homemade spaghetti sauce which works even better for cutting down the processed ingredients.  Sometimes, when I'm in hurry, I do just what I'm doing tonight.  😊

I fried the hamburger, drained the fat, then added the jarred sauce.

I incorporated it all, cracked some pepper, covered and simmered for 30 minutes.  I put it aside.

I prepared 2 boxes of the "KD".

My son still wants to eat this now and again.  I usually have a bite, but have been over eating "Crap Dinner" for years now.  But you know, as a mom with a youngster, this was a way to get dinner on the table in under a half hour...I used to think my son would never eat anything else but "Mac & Cheese and Chicken Nuggets".

I sprayed a 13" x 9" baking dish with "Pam".  I put a small layer of sauce on the bottom.

I put about 1 box (half) of the cooked macaroni down and spread it out.

I put another layer of sauce and repeated with the rest of the "KD".

I topped with the remaining sauce and then the grated cheese.

I put the dish on a cookie sheet lined with foil.  I baked this in pre-heated 350°F for 45 minutes.

I let it rest 15 minutes and then served.  It will set right up like a lasagna after putting it in the fridge overnight.  It was sloppy for this plating.  I served mine on a side plate for fear I would eat a full sized dinner plate if I used one.

One word:  Yum.  This is the kind of comfort food you loved before you knew how WRONG it was to put it in your mouth.  A simpler time when you just ate food because it tasted good, and didn't worry or care about what was in it -  like how much carbs, calories, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, fat, etc. etc...  That being said - eat at your own risk...  😉  We both really liked the chili, it was just the right amount and woke the sauce taste up a bit.  The Swiss cheese also gave a nice tang.  Son said he was thankful this would be starting his week of meals without me.