Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese

It's another mac and cheese recipe! I'm all for trying out as many of these as I can. Who doesn't like whipping together a cheesy, tasty pasta dish that can feed a whole family and provide you with plenty of leftovers the next day? Easy peasy. If you have kids or you're a kid at heart yourself, you and them are bond to love this meal.

True to it's name, this really does taste like you're eating a cheeseburger. It must be the ketchup and mustard that's in the mini burgers.

The cheddar cheese sauce ties it all together. You can't have a burger without cheese. Not for me at least. I must have some cheese! Tomatoes, red onions, and pickles are all great additions to add once it pops out of the oven.

Source: Rachael Ray
Servings: 4

Ingredients
1 pound cavatappi pasta (I used penne)
1 pound ground sirloin
1 tablespoon (about a palmful) grill seasoning
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
3 tablespoons EVOO
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium red onion, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups grated yellow cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/4 cups grated Swiss cheese, divided
3 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 deli-style pickle, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add pasta to boiling water and cook just shy of al dente, according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and reserve.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the ground sirloin with the grill seasoning, ketchup and yellow mustard. Grab about a tablespoon of meat in your hand and roll it into a small ball. Place the mini meatballs onto a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of EVOO and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler.

While the mini meatballs are in the oven, heat a large saucepot over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon, and the butter. Cook the red onion with some salt and pepper until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over top and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, season with salt and pepper, and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Remove sauce from heat and whisk in 1 cup of each cheese. Add the drained pasta to the cheese sauce along with the baked meatballs and toss to combine. Pour everything out into a casserole dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheddar and Swiss cheeses.

If serving immediately, toss the mac under the broiler until the top is golden brown and bubbly. Top with the chopped tomatoes and pickles, and serve.