Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water just before you drain it. Cook the macaroni according to package directions to al dente, but add the frozen peas to the boiling pasta for the last five minutes of cooking.I hope you enjoy the benefit of my mistake! We sure did. Next time you’re in a pinch for time, this is the meal for you! Just don’t mix up the chubs and you’ll be just fine. And what a great mistake it was! So my Cheeseburger Macaroni has now become my Cheesy Sausage Macaroni, and it’s a fantastic bowl of warm, gooey, cheesy, sausage and macaroni goodness! I had mixed up the chubs! It was a mistake. I had put the sausage in my Cheeseburger Macaroni (leaving us with ground beef for the “sausage patties,” which, quite honestly, were horrible)! You see… when I buy in bulk to head up to the cabin, I usually purchase my ground beef in “chubs” because they travel well, and I also buy the Jimmy Dean Sausage “chub” because everyone loves it! And therein lies the problem. Kind of funny that no one even mentioned it until I declared the obvious! My hubby was right…. It was the most tasteless, dry, cardboard-like “sausage” I had ever eaten. Once I had served everyone, I finally got a chance to sit down to eat – a big bite of fluffy scrambled eggs and toast, followed by a nibble of the breakfast sausage.Īnd then I knew. Everyone seemed to be enjoying breakfast, but there was an unusual stillness in the air. Until the next morning.Īs everyone sat down for our traditional scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and sausage patties breakfast the next morning, the room got quiet. So I politely explained about all of the awesome spices I had put in it, which must be what he was tasting. This was Cheeseburger Macaroni – emphasis on burger. Wow! This is awesome! and This is the BEST EVER! and What the heck did you put in this? It’s fantastic! There I sat with a big smile on my face, thinking, yep… I really knocked it out of the park with the spice combination I picked this time, when my husband asked if I had put sausage in it. It’s quick, easy, and comes together in a flash, so it’s a great go-to when you’re in a time crunch.īoth our families have had this dish several times, so I was taken aback by the number of compliments I got. Now, this Cheeseburger Macaroni is certainly something I’ve served before. Just when everyone rolled in, dinner came out. I quickly grabbed all the ingredients – the macaroni, the onions and canned diced tomatoes, the chub of hamburger meat, the peas, spices and cheese – and threw the dinner together. Next thing I knew, it was 5:30 and our husbands and kids would be arriving soon, craving that bowl of deliciousness. I had tons of time to get dinner out, so my sister and I sat down on the deck, soaked in the view, and enjoyed a nice glass of wine. All groceries were ordered, purchased, picked up, unloaded, and carefully put away by late afternoon. I had planned on serving my Cheeseburger Macaroni as my welcome-to-the-cabin-comfort-food meal for everyone that first Friday evening. It’s easy on me, and everyone loves getting settled into the cabin with a bowlful of something that warms the soul. Trust me when I say it’s A LOT of groceries! In planning ahead, I usually pick a very easy, very quick comfort food type of meal for the first night up there. I typically plan all the meals for the entire weekend, make one huge shopping list, then we swing by the store on our way up. Case in point… When our families head up to the cabin, my sister and I usually go up early to get everything situated – groceries, bedding, drinks, etc. In fact, I can’t tell you how many times over the years my mistakes and improvisations have led to a meal far superior than its original iteration. One of the lessons I try to teach people about cooking is that it’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s okay to improvise and this Cheeseburger Macaroni is the perfect example.

Recipe for cheeseburger macaroni