Macaroni and Cheese with Ground Beef, Salsa and Green Chiles

I used Kraft Deluxe Family size macaroni and cheese, then Ortega salsa, ground turkey and everything else except the cilantro. This meal describes comfort food. Oooh yummmy! I made it for lunch for my family on a Saturday afternoon. You gotta try it...you'll love it!

Excellent tasting and easy to make. I added 1/2 cup of onion to my hamburger which to me gives it more flavor. But this one is a great recipe.

I omitted the salsa and cilantro, and used half sharp cheddar, half mont. jack. I also only used 1 1/2 cans of evaporated milk. The sauce is wonderfully rich and creamy- almost too creamy to eat very much.

I have to say I thought it was going to turn out bad but boy was I wrong! It was so good! Loved it!

Nice recipe. The beef portion of the recipe evens out the rich creaminess of the macaroni and cheese recipe. It's still a pretty 'heavy' dish, or I would give it 5 stars. Very yummy, will definitely make again. Thanks!

My family did not care for this. It was too thick, too heavy and not appealing to look at. Sorry!

This dish was alright, however I had to add some cumin to make it more Mexican tasting.

We loved this!! I halved the recipe (but ended up using the whole box of pasta because the cheese sauce made so much) used 3/4 of salsa, and added in some leftover sliced olives. We were out of chili powder, so I used cumin and garlic powder.

This is a great recipe. A bit too spicy for me, but all in all, very flavorful.

I followed the recipe exactly and used the Creamy Macroni recipe Excellent as is.I did use my own salsa and fresh green chiles. Next time I want to use Monterey Jack with Jalapeno. For the life of me I can't figure out how people can remove ingredients and add a bunch of other things and then rate it low. It's not the same recipe!!!

This is a good recipe if you want something very quick and easy. I also made it with velveeta shells and cheese the family size. Its taste ok. I would cook it agian due to how easy it was to make.

I chose to do it a little different. I kept the hamburger meat and can of chopped chilies but I used Kraft Shells and Cheese and prepared per instructions. I combined the meat, chilies,pepper, chopped onions, and garlic powder (seasonings to taste), 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of sour cream and it was to die for!!

Great idea! I love being able to add protein to a dish that my kids already love. It's probably a little much for young ones if they're not used to spice because of the salsa, but for my husband and I we LOVE the spice and added some extra heat/flavor (cayenne, cumin, garlic, seasoned salt) and it was great!

Great recipe! My kids ate it up, they actually finished before we did (that was a first). I did make a few changes. I used box mac and cheese (2 boxes, because I did not have the ingredient for the creamy mac and cheese, but I will next time). I only used half a can of green chilies so it was not too hot for the kids. I used the other half the next night for Sloppy Joes II By: Tamara (on this site). We topped with sour cream. Very yummy!!!

It was good. Easy to make.

Not bad..

Big hit! I used 2 boxes of Kraft, and only 1/2 c. of salsa so it was just a hint of it. Perfect comfort food.

Great recipe. I downgrade the serving size to 4 servings, and removed cilantro and green chilies. I substituted the cilantro and chilies with 1 green bell pepper and cayenne pepper. I had to add some sort of vegetable to the dish. Can't exactly stay healthy on pure meat and grain. Overall Very tasty.

This was quick, easy & delish! A switch in cheeses was great. Can be spooned on toasted roll like sloppy joes. Great recipe, Thanks :)

very good! i used macaroni and cheese in a box instead of making it myself. haha

I love this recipe! I actually still haven't made it with ground beef, but it's a great way to dress up your basic kraft mac-n-cheese. The Deluxe is good, but standard boxed is fine, too. I leave out the cilantro, and sometimes the chilies, but the salsa makes it juicy and I add cayenne pepper. I serve this as a quickie side and people say they'll never make plain mac-n-cheese again!

I've made the Creamy Macaroni and Cheese several times, it's my favorite. This is the first time I've doctored it up at all and thought it was very good. I did use a full 16oz jar salsa but I was using leftover cooked ground beef and added a 16oz bag of frozen green beans. I must say, mac and cheese is a great rich cheesy side but I think it may be a little much for a full meal. My husband loved it, thanks so much for sharing.

I normally follow recipes exactly, but got a little creative with this one. I used a regular-sized box of shells and cheese and used less ground beef. I didn't have any chilies or cilantro, instead I added corn, black olives, and crushed up some tortilla chips on top. It was yummy! Will make this again.

My boys love that box stuff that you mix meat with... pathetic, I know. But I grabbed this recipe and told them, lets try this instead and see how it goes. They all chipped in on the prep and they now prefer it to the box stuff! ::whew:: They still like other flavors of that box stuff but at least one flavor has bit the dust in their repertoire.

WOW This was fabulous. My entire family LOVED it! I am not a spicy-food eater, so I went a little lighter on the spices... it had a nice kick without burning my mouth. I love it! Will make this one again.

Wonderful!!!

a family favorite. Makes a ton!!

The recipe simply inspired me to make my own easier version. I used to Kraft box mac and cheese instead. I chopped up half an onion and some green peppers. Sauteed that till it was brown then added the beef. I didn't have any salsa so I seasoned the meat with taco meat seasoning. I mixed it all together and I'm sure it was just as tasty as this recipe.

This is great! it's like hamburger helper but more exotic! We had to get rid of ground beef and mac and cheese so I figured that this would be a cool way to do it. We had to substitute a lot of things like the green chilies with jalapeños and we also added green peppers to the ground beef, delicious!

This wasn't too bad at all, I was unsure of having salsa, think it was the tomato thing, and cheese together. I don't have the chiles or cilantro so I used jalapeno peppers. I used just regular KD too. The peppers and chili powder add just the right kick and the salsa added a nice creamy touch to it.

Really easy and yummy mac n cheese. I was missing a few ingredients so I used kraft dinner extra creamy mac n cheese Without the pepper jack cheese and I also didnt have green chiles or cilantro but aside from that I made it just like the recipe says. Turned out great. Thanks for the recipe

In my household if the kids ask for seconds it's a keeper. They were eating seconds and the next day for lunch they begged for leftovers. I used Velveeta and shells instead of making the mac n cheese recipe. Other then that I followed the directions step by step. Great recipe!!!!!

I used kraft deluxe mac n cheese also and seasoned the meat with a taco seasoning packet and added the green chiles with chopped tomato. The kids loved this dish

This was great! I used boxed mac and cheese and added a bit more seasonings to punch it up. Overall it was great. The one drawback that it had was too much meat, not enough cheesey sauce. that's the only reason I couldn't give it five stars. Otherwise, really good!

This is really good. A few changes, 1 box of kraf mac, 1/2 pound ground turkey, and half the other stuff, and in my bowl added sour cream. Yummy thanks!

I made this for supper tonight, and my son and I both liked it, was looking for something different for ground beef, it was good. Although, because I like to cook, I tend to not measure anything, my sauce was abundant and almost too rich and cheesy!! Pretty good and super quick and easy!

This was so yummy! The only reason I am giving this 4 starts instead of 5 is because it was a bit grainy but overall delicious!

I used a box of mac and cheese and added some shredded cheese to make it creamier. Also added some sweet bell peppers, fresh garlic, and a can of hominy because I had them on hand. The BF really liked this and it was super easy so I would make it again. If you use a box of mac and cheese this only feeds 3 or 4. We barely had leftovers but I didn't fix any sides. I prefer the cajun macaroni recipe from this site.

For what it is (I call them 'slam-dunk' dinners) this is pretty good. I used 2 boxes of Annie's natural shells and white cheddar and added a minced chipotle pepper (with sauce) into the beef mixture. We like things on the spicy side and this added some good heat. I'll make this again for those nights we're on the run. I served it with a green salad and applesauce. Easy!

Very good, I'll make it again!

This was really easy to fix and was quick too. This was okay, but we would prefer not to have this dish again. We really didn't care for it much. It didn't turn out quite as good as it sounded. Thanks anyway, as always, I enjoyed trying out a new recipe.

I used habanero cheese along with the sauce for mac and cheese as well as raw jalapenos

So good! I was so surprised, but my husband and I gobbled it up. Thank you!

Nice meal if you are looking for something quick. Thought it was okay. I didn't have any cilantro, so I just sliced up some onions for flavor. 4 stars for the ease and quickness of the recipe

yummy

I put a can of diced tomatoes and green chilies in with the ground beef and meted in half a block of cream cheese and mixed that in with boxed Mac and cheese and sprinkled in Colby jack cheese. I didn’t put any salsa in but was so good

This was good. It didn't take anywhere near as long as I thought it would having to make the mac and cheese. It was great for a weeknight meal.

This is quite good! It is very simple to make. I used Rotel with green chiles instead of salsa and added shredded cheddar cheese. I didn't use the cheese it said to use because I'm not big on super spicy. However, the cheddar cheese was just as good.

Was told it looks like hamburger helped, but soooo much better. Everyone agreed.

I loved it.....i didn't use creamy macaroni just a little bag that you can get from the dollar tree & two hamburger patties. In same pan as hamburger patties -after I cooked it I added a Herdez's salsa casera, 7oz can, a bit of green chiles, garlic - one clove, onion, a 1 tsp of chilli powder & simmered. I cooked hamburger meat & rest of ingredients in one pot & mac in another. after hamburger mix was done I tossed it in mac pot & added cheese!!! Super delicious!

I didn't have salsa so i substituted a can of Rotell tomatoes, onions, minced garlic, 3/4 tsp cumin and about 1/4 tsp. oregano. I used boxed Mac & Cheese (cooked and prepared separately.) I also added about 1 cup of water while I waited for the Mac & Cheese to cook, using the hot water from the macaroni. Hubby "was surprised it was so good"!

Made with Creamy Mac and Cheese as suggested. Used half pepper jack and half sharp cheddar cheese. Very creamy and good, but very rich.

turned out great! my husband who hates Mac&cheese even loved it! I did make a substitution though. I didn't have salsa do I used 1/4 cup taco sauce and a can of rotel(drained) and I just used the store bought, boxed Mac & Cheese

made this recipe. added sour cream and topped with shredded cheese. my family raved about how delicious it was

I substitued Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in place of the "Creamy Macaroni" recipe, and neither I or my husband like it at all! I will need to try it with the "Creamy Macaroni" recipe, and hopefully, this will greatly improve it.

Not impressed

Excellent!

I always make a recipe as is to begin with. If we like it, I'll continue following the recipe. LOL, but then the + & - begins. I didn't have ground beef. I did however have a box of elbows, homemade salsa, green chili's & velveeta. Made mac & cheese, added a little more than a cup of salsa mixed in some green chili's Yum. Baked with garlic butter ritz & viola´ total explosion in our mouths. Tysm for the inspiration!