Cheddar Macaroni Beef Casserole

This is a yummy, VERY cheap meal that takes you only about 30 minutes! I got it in the Kraft food & family magazine. It's a great magazine that you can get for free. Just go to their website and sign up. I've found a few good meals in their magazines. My whole family loves this meal although we lovingly now call it "turkey noodle delite" because my husband doesn't like it's real name. Men are funny sometimes. :-)

Cheddar Macaroni Beef Casserole
1 pkg. (7 1/4oz) Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner (or a generic version)
1/4 cup milk
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 can (14 1/2oz) Italian-style tomatoes, undrained
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves or dried basil leaves (I used a little fresh of each out of my garden)
1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheesePreheat oven to 400. Prepare Macaroni & cheese dinner as directed on
package, omitting butter. Meanwhile, brown meat in large nonstick
skillet on medium-high heat, drain. Add tomatoes and oregano or basil, mix
well. Bring to a boil and simmer for a couple minutes.
Add meat mixture to mac & cheese, spoon into 9-inch square baking
dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is heated
through.

Hide your veggies!!!: I added a little fresh spinach the other night when I made this, and it turned out really well. I added a small handful to the skillet when I added the tomatoes. The boys all ate it and didn't even know the difference. 8/17/09: I added a small handful of some finely chopped carrots in when I browned the meat last night, and it was really yummy. I like hiding veggies in my food this way. It's healthy and gets us to eat our veggies without hardly telling the difference! 7/3/09: I added a whole small zucchini as well as a small handful of baby carrots, both finely chopped up, to this dish last night when I was browning the meat. Add the carrots first as they take longer to soften. I loved it this way! My hubby, who isn't even that crazy about zucchini, said it was very good.