DinnerCountCheeseburger Macaroni Skillet
The boxed skillet dinner, done right. Brown a pound of lean ground beef, add the pasta, the sauce mix and the water and milk from any brand's cheeseburger macaroni box, then cover and simmer until the noodles are tender. One skillet, about twenty-five minutes, and it stretches to five. It's for the night when nobody wants to think.
25 minServes 5 as writtenStovetopAmericanContains Milk, Wheat
Ingredients — serves 5
- Boxed cheeseburger macaroni mix (any brand)1 box
- Ground beef (lean)1 lb
- Milk2 cups
How much to make for 2, 4, 6 or 8
| Ingredient | For 2 | For 4 | For 6 | For 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boxed cheeseburger macaroni mix (any brand) | ½ box | ¾ box | 1¼ boxes | 1½ boxes |
| Ground beef (lean) | ½ lb | ¾ lb | 1¼ lb | 1½ lb |
| Milk | 1 cup | 1½ cups | 2½ cups | 3¼ cups |
| The pan | Written for 5 adult-size portions; you are cooking for about 2 — roughly 0.4× the recipe. The mix comes by the box — the card is a whole box’s worth (about 2.5 portions); keep the rest. | — | — | Written for 5 adult-size portions; you are cooking for about 8 — roughly 1.6× the recipe. This calls for a 12-inch skillet. At about 1.6× the recipe, brown in two batches — a crowded pan steams instead of browning. Then bring it back together in the skillet. |
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Steps
- Put the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, for 6 to 8 minutes. Check that no pink remains and it reads 160°F on a thermometer. Tip the skillet and spoon off the fat.
- Take the skillet off the heat. Boxes differ, so use the water and milk your box asks for, multiplied by the number of boxes on the ingredient list, and use its simmer time in step 3 — the milk on the list is a shopping estimate at about 2 cups a box, and your box’s number wins. For part of a box, use that share of the dry pasta and of the seasoning packet, and fold the rest closed for another night. Pour in the box’s hot water and stir in the seasoning until it dissolves, then stir in the milk and the pasta.
- Put the skillet back over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for about 12 minutes, stirring once halfway. Check that the pasta is tender and the sauce has thickened.
- Let it sit off the heat for 2 minutes — the sauce thickens as it cools a little — and serve straight from the skillet.
Good to know
- Contains Milk, Wheat — from the ingredient names, so not a complete list. It cannot see inside a jar, a mix or a sauce, and formulas change. For an allergy or intolerance, read the package every time — never decide from this line.
- 🌡 Ground beef — cook to 160°F at the thickest part , the USDA minimum for ground meat. A thermometer is the test; color is not.