Main dishes

Cheesy Beef & Pasta Skillet

photo by:kraft

If you like beefy mac and cheese, you'll like this easy skillet dish—made with seasoned ground beef, penne pasta and VELVEETA.

time

prep:

10 min

total:

45 min

servings

total:

2 servings, 2 cups each

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What You Need

1/2

lb. extra lean ground beef

1/2

cup chopped onions

tsp. ground cumin

tsp. chili powder

can (14-1/2 oz.) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2

cup water

cup penne pasta, uncooked

yellow bell pepper, chopped

oz. 2% Milk VELVEETA®, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Tbsp. chopped cilantro

Make It

COOK meat with onions, cumin and chili powder in large skillet on medium-high heat 5 min. or until meat is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.

ADD tomatoes, water, pasta and peppers; stir. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 18 to 20 min. or until pasta is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.

STIR in VELVEETA; cook 2 min. or until melted, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Special Extra

Add 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper along with the onions, cumin and chili powder.

Substitute

Substitute a green bell pepper for the yellow pepper.

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a cook

posted:

11/11/2012

I added some Italian seasoning because another similar dish called for sausage instead of beef. Very good flavor! I will keep this recipe.

nfhrjaot

posted:

9/6/2012

This was a very quick and easy recipe. I will make it again, This time I did not have a pepper and it tasted just fine.

michmalley

posted:

6/11/2010

I used stewed tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic, 1 c of water, red and yellow pepper, and wheat penne. I topped it with a dollop of light sour cream. Will add to my recipe box to make again.

judyweiss

posted:

3/21/2010

I used Rotelle tomatoes for an extra kick, plus increased the cumin and chili powder. It was great and my family said it was a keeper. The cilantro made it perfect.

jenniferhessel

posted:

1/13/2010

This was pleasantly and surprisingly good! The yellow pepper added a great twist that was a little unexpected. Fantastic!

beferzshort

posted:

1/10/2010

I doubled the meat and pasta, put in about 4x as much chili powder, extra Velveeta, and added some salsa. It tasted good, but still didn't have quite enough flavor. Great warmed up as leftovers, though!

chumlette

posted:

9/3/2009

This was good, though I made some changes also (whole wheat pasta, added chives, more liquid, extra 2% shredded cheddar cheese, more spice, etc). My sweetie enjoyed it (asked for seconds).

safetygirl79

posted:

8/20/2009

My husband really enjoyed this recipe.

vanderkitty

posted:

7/1/2009

YUM! This was very good. I substituted fresh jalapeno pepper from our garden for the yellow pepper & added some fresh chives. I also used that new Barilla Mini Penne pasta instead of regular. My husband really liked it & went back for seconds (I doubled the recipe). I will definitely make this again!

a cook

posted:

5/21/2009

I doubled for the family. Family didn't complain but I didn't not like.

servings

total:
2 servings, 2 cups each

healthy living information

Low fat

Low calorie

Good source of vitamin A or C

Low sodium

diet exchange

2 Starch + 3 Vegetable + 3 Meat (L) + 1/2 Fat

nutrition bonus

This Southwest-inspired meal is loaded with flavor yet low in calories, fat and sodium. As an added bonus, the yellow pepper is rich in vitamin C. Eating right never tasted so good!