I really liked it! A good simple meal for a quick weeknight dinner. I too cut back on the amount of macaroni but used 1.5 cans of stewed diced tomatoes some butter and two crushed garlic cloves in addition to the cheese. Oh and I used sharp cheddar monterey jack and mozzarella (all I had on hand) as well as a spoonful of sour cream and it came out just fine. I imagine some cooked ground beef turkey or shredded chicken would also go well with this dish. Lots of options for a meal like this one and served with a nice side salad and some bread it makes an easy and quick dinner for a hungry family.
This has been a family recipe for over 50 years - my mom and grandmother ran a restaurant and this was on our menu every Friday! A few changes we make - we use canned whole tomatoes and squish them up with our fingers - they just always seem juicier and some folks don't like stewed tomatoes or always have them on hand. We also add a lot of ground black pepper (I prefer fresh cracked but you can use ready-ground too). Just as a note - this is NOT a creamy mac and cheese recipe - not meant to be! The cheese will be rather clumpy and not spread throughout but it is marvelous that way! One hint - if you do have leftovers, saute them in a little butter/margarine the next day - even better!!!!
I used only 1 lb. of medium shells but 2 cans of tomatoes and more cheese than called for, cutting the cubes into smaller pieces - used colby/jack, cheddar, and a few cut up slices of muenster. I also mixed in about a tablespoon of butter into the hot, drained shells and mixed in the cheese, tomatoes, S&P,and some garlic in the hot pot to melt it down a little before putting into baking dish. Came out GREAT and the leftovers reheated better than expected, too!
We really liked this recipe with a few changes. I used less macaroni and rotel tomatoes instead of stewed. Also added a little butter, garlic salt and seasoned salt. I used shredded mexican blend cheese too.
A new favorite in the family. My husband and I have it almost monthly.:) We tried it also with fresh tomatoes instead of canned. Delicious and a little bit healthier.:)
It's okay. The added tomato flavor was nice but the cheese tended to melt and clump together into balls rather than spread like a sauce through the macaroni.
This is wonderful. To make it a 5 star I added some garlic and onion powder. This could give Pizza Hut pasta a run for their money! Great mix of cheeses the tomatoes pop with flavor outta the oven and the combination of powders really top it off. Thanks for the recipe!
Fried 1 pound of hamberger meat and used rotel (mild)...Used sherdded cheese. Topped with crisp bacon. Luv this!
This recipe is o.k. Perhaps I used too much macaroni as I found it to be too dry for my tastes. The kids' reaction was lukewarm as was my husband's.
