The Mac N Cheese Challenge Round One

Here is the first recipe as part of my Mac N Cheese Challenge. Feel free to add an entire pound of ground beef if your budget allows for it, but in order to stay in my $1 budget as allowed by the challenge, I only used 1/4th a pound of ground beef. Ground beef can usually be found on sale for $1.99 a pound, and ground chicken or turkey may be even cheaper. You can also switch out a can of kidney beans (cost about $0.50) to make this dish vegetarian.

1/4 pound ground beef ($0.50)
1 can diced tomatoes (mine was free after coupon, often on sale 2/$1 or less)
2 tablespoons taco seasoning ($0.10)



Boil the macaroni as directed on the box.



While the mac is cooking, brown the ground beef, and drain. Mix in the taco seasoning.




Drain the macaroni almost all the way. Add the cheese powder and mix well.


Drain the can of tomatoes and add to the macaroni. Next, add the ground beef.


You'll get four servings from this meal. You can serve this with a salad ($0.79 for a small bag at Fred Meyer) and corn bread biscuits ($0.39 a box of mix) to have a well rounded meal for less than $3 (including macaroni and cheese mix)