RECIPE: Hamburger Mess

I changed it quite a bit, but you can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients

1 Onion; Diced
1 tbs. Canola Oil
1 28 oz. Can Whole Tomatoes
1 16 oz. Can Pasta Sauce 
2 lb. Ground Beef
1 Box of Large Macaroni Noodles
1 c. of Grated Cheddar
1 c. of Monterey Jack (the original recipe called for mozzarella but I substituted what I had in the fridge)
Salt and other optional seasonings, to taste

Directions

1. Sweat the onions in 1 tbs. of canola oil in a large pan with one pinch of salt.

2. Add the ground beef and cook until brown. Drain.

3. Transfer the meat to a large pot, add whole tomatoes and the pasta sauce, as well as any seasonings you wish. I used a pinch of oregano and a dash of Italian seasoning mix. I also mashed up the tomatoes really well.

4. Bring meat, tomatoes, and sauce to a boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 45-60 mins. Stir occasionally.

5. When meat/tomatoes are almost finished, cook the pasta in a large pot (as box instructions suggest).

6. Drain the noodles. Once the meat/tomatoes are done, add the noodles to the mix (and mix well).

7. Transfer contents to a 9" x 13" dish and top with cheese(s).

8. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until cheeses have fully melted.

Notes

The original recipe was made without pasta sauce, but I like for my noodles to be really moist. I felt like something was missing, so I added a small can of pasta sauce.

It also said to allow the tomatoes/noodles/meat mixture to sit for a few hours before baking, to allow the tomatoes to soak into the noodles. Because I added the tomato sauce, this wasn't necessary and I skipped it.

Lastly, the recipe said to cook for one hour. I had to no reason to bake it for that long because I didn't let the noodles sit out. The dish was already warm and didn't need re-heating (like it would have if the noodles had been sitting out for a while). I only baked it long enough to melt the cheese.

I served my Hamburger Mess with a side of cinnamon toast.
Yum!