Stephen Special

Stephen Special

This sounds really good, and is a modified recipe based on making the mac & cheese from scratch instead of boxed. This seems like a long winded recipe, just read through it, it is not that bad, the homemade part takes a bit more but the results will be much better. On my to cook list for sure. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Pasta

  • 500 grams uncooked pasta, your choice, small shells, spirals, etc.
  • 4 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup butter, this is 1/2 a standard block
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
  • salt and pepper, to taste

For the Remaining Ingredients

  • 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
  • 2 cans tuna in water or brine, OR make from a shortcut
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 packet taco seasoning mix, OR make from a shortcut
  • 1 handful fresh mushrooms, sliced

Instructions
 

  • Heat a pot of salted water to boiling then cook the pasta until just tender, drain and set aside.
  • While the water is heating for the pasta and for the pasta to cook, go ahead and heat a large non stick pan then add the bell peppers, onion, and ground beef, when the beef is good and browned, drain, then mix in the taco seasoning and add the drained tuna and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are wilted and softened. Remove from heat and mix into the drained pasta, set aside.
  • In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, warm the milk until it is simmering then set it aside.
  • In a large heavy-bottomed stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, whisk in the flour and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until it turns light brown in color and has a slightly toasted aroma, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the dry mustard.
  • Remove the pot from the heat then slowly whisk the warm milk into the flour mixture. Continue whisking constantly to avoid any lumps. (The mixture will become very thick and then thin out gradually until it is smooth.)
  • Return the pot to the stove over medium-high heat and cook the mixture while whisking constantly until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste and reduce the heat to medium. Whisk in the Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses until they are melted and the cheese sauce is smooth.
  • Add the pasta mixture to the cheese sauce and stir to mix together and heat to warm everything through, serve.

Notes

I will price this after I make it, but for now will say low cost.
Shortcuts: Fresh Tuna, Taco Seasoning Mix.
Provided by Stephen Story and the original recipe is here.

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