Romance Writers Weekly: Quick Dinner for the Busy Writer

Do you like to read romance novels? Wouldn’t you like to know more about your favorite authors? Well, you came to the right place! Join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all…… About our writing of course! Every Tuesday we’ll all answer the same questions and after you’ve enjoyed the blog on this site, we’ll direct you to another. So come back often for a thrilling ride. Tell your friends and feel free to ask us questions in the comment box.

This week is a little different. We're not answering questions but offering a quick recipe that helps us to keep the family happy and fed while allowing us to get back to our writing as soon as possible.

Maybe you've found your way to my blog today by linking from my friend and wonderful Regency romance author, Collette Carmeron. Welcome!

The recipe I'm sharing is one of my husband's favorites, and I'm thrilled every time he asks for it because I know it will taste good, provide some leftovers, and yet take me only a little bit of time in the kitchen. We've just refer to it unfussily as Mac and Meat.

Mac and Meat

Ingredients

• About 1/2 box of elbow macaroni (you can substitute another pasta like rotini or ziti, if you like)
• 1 jar of delicious pasta sauce (I love Paul Newman's Sockarooni, but a sweeter Marinara works well too)
• 1 lb. of ground beef (ground turkey could work too)
• 1 cup grated or shredded cheddar cheese (or more, depending on your preference)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (I've made it sans onion for those who are sensitive and it's just as tasty)
• cooking spray, as needed
• Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning or basil to taste

Directions
1. Bring 2-4 quarts (depending on how much pasta you'll make) of water to a boil. I usually add a dash of olive oil to the water to prevent the pasta from sticking.

2. Add pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente (not too firm, not too soft). Set aside.

3. Add cooking spray to a heated skillet and then add ground beef and chopped onions.

4. Saute onions and beef until browned, adding salt, pepper, and/or Italian seasoning or basil to season the beef as it cooks.

5. Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare a casserole dish by spraying lightly with cooking spray.

6. Once your beef is browned and pasta is cooked, combine together and add your jar of pasta sauce to the mix, stirring to coat all pasta thoroughly.

7. Spread mixture into your greased casserole dish and sprinkle shredded cheese over the top.

8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until mac and meat is heated through and cheedar cheese is thoroughly melted.

I usually serve Mac and Meat with a bit of garlic bread or a small side salad (using pre-prepped salad mix, of course!).

Enjoy! And if you've tried the recipe or have a variation on it, be sure to let me know in the comments.

Now let's see what my fellow Romance Writers Weekly author J.J. Devine is cooking up today.