Tex-Mex Taco Mac and Cheese

As we came down from the thrill of our Taco Salad Pizza, we scrounged around for ideas to use up the rest of our leftover taco-flavored meat.

And a Pinterest find inspired Melissa to combine that taco meat into a mac and cheese dish.

The result was a high in our 2012 culinary journey.

This recipe was so good that we both relished the leftovers the next couple of days. And it reheated well.

The Tex-Mex flavors, including the Cabot chipotle cheddar that we used, provided a punch that the cool tomatoes balanced out. The cheese oozed creaminess and the green onions gave a texture and flavor contrasted against that.

Taco Mac and Cheese
serves 6

1/2 pound ground sirloin
16 ounces macaroni pasta
2 1/2 cups milk
4 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
2 1/2 ounces Cabot chipotle cheddar, shredded
3 1/2 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
2 2/3 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon garlic salt
salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste
1 Roma tomato, diced
3 green onions, sliced

1. Brown the meat in a skillet. In a large stockpot, cook the pasta, about 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Whisk the milk and flour together. Then add to the meat and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the chipotle cheddar, regular cheddar and cream cheese to the meat mixture. Cook until cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.

4. Add taco seasoning. Season with garlic salt, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Garnish individual servings with diced tomatoes and dice green onions.