Cheesy Beef Pasta Skillet.

One of my biggest kitchen timesaver suggestions would be always make extra meat to keep in the freezer. Shredded or chunk chicken, shredded beef or pork and ground beef all work. Prepared meat is my "go-to" when the day doesn't go as planned, and the meal plan that was written isn't going to happen. Frozen browned meat can be used for salads, sandwiches, stir-fry, soup or tacos. Whenever I brown ground beef I always do a pound or two extra. It doesn't take more time, and I always have ground beef if I run stuck. Below is one of our favorite quick and easy pasta skillet dishes.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb pasta (whole wheat rotini works great, my husband’s favorite is Amish egg noodles. Someday I will make my own, but I am working on making hamburger buns. I will get there.)
2 c. water
1 1/4 cup pizza or spaghetti sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbs mustard
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp onion powder

3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Brown and drain beef. Stir in pepper, onion powder, tomato sauce, sugar, and mustard. Pour in water and pasta. Bring to a boil and reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the water is absorbed and the pasta is cooked. Turn the heat off and stir in the cheese.  Enjoy.

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