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    Home » recipes » kid-friendly feeds

    By Amanda Smyth 8 Comments

    mince and macaroni casserole: the good, the yum & the ugly

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    thanks for the warm welcome you gave the good, the yum & the ugly last week.  I'm glad you love ugly food as much as I do.  I must admit I was surprised at a common theme in the feedback: apparently salmon rissoles aren't ugly enough. Well fear not, ugly food lovers, this week's recipe has ugly in spades.

    Not only is my mince and macaroni casserole seriously unattractive, the recipe includes a tin of cream of mushroom soup which, let's face it, is the world's ugliest ingredient. It's a simple equation really:

    mince + cream of mushroom soup = (ugly)².

    But, you know what's worse than being (ugly)²?  Being tasteless!  I've been making this mince and macaroni casserole for my family forever.  I promise it is hearty, filling and ideal fodder for the footy season.

    mince and macaroni casserole_ the good the yum and the uglymince and macaroni casserole

    ingredients:

    • 150g macaroni
    • 2 brown onions, diced
    • 4 stalks celery, diced
    • 1 red capsicum, diced
    • 500g beef mince
    • 1 tin cream of mushroom soup
    • 1 tin water
    • small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
    • 1 ½ cups grated cheese
    • salt and pepper to season

    method:

    Cook the macaroni in salted water until just tender.  Saute the onions, celery and capsicum in a little olive oil over a low heat until translucent.  Turn up the heat, then brown the mince.  Add the soup, water and ¾ of the parsley.  Cook for five minutes

    In a greased casserole dish, combine the cooked macaroni and meat mixture.  Top with grated cheese and cook in a 180ºC oven for forty minutes.

    To soften the ugly, you may like to sprinkle the remaining parsley on top of the cheese before serving.  mince and macaroni casserolemince and macaroni casserole ugly food

    The other great thing about this meal is it's freezer friendly.  Make the mince, assemble the casserole, top it with cheese and then bung it in the freezer for a healthy, late-home-from-swimming, ready-in-no-time mid-week meal.

    what's your favourite ugly fodder?

    Share169
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid says

      March 23, 2015 at 6:13 am

      I love curries and stews which are super delicious and super ugly. They take the worst photos but they are still my best loved dinners! This looks a perfect winter warmer and I love that it's freezer friendly! I can't wait for next week's instalment!

      Reply
    2. SIL says

      March 23, 2015 at 2:26 pm

      Always looking for "late home from swimming" meals - I'll try this one this week 🙂

      Reply
    3. Emily @ Have A Laugh On Me says

      March 24, 2015 at 7:39 am

      My fusspots might like this as has pasta and mince in and I could smuggle some veggies in there! x

      Reply
    4. Dannielle @ Zamamabakes says

      March 26, 2015 at 10:43 pm

      Ok so it's a little uglier than the salmon rissoles but it still looks great to me!
      What a delicious sounding family feast. I know our 3 kidlets and Zadada will give this a huge thumbs up.
      Thanks for linking up with us here at Fabulous Foodie Fridays. have a gorgeous weekend Amanda. x

      Reply
    5. Vicki @ Boiled Eggs & Soldiers says

      March 26, 2015 at 11:19 pm

      Oh I like this series, I managed to make my fish cakes very ugly this week that were met with very rude whines. This recipe sounds perfect for 'after swimming" so I'm going to give it a whirl.

      Reply
    6. Maxabella says

      March 27, 2015 at 9:23 am

      LOL, "ugly" food is the best! This is one for the 'food my kids might actually eat' Pinterest board. x

      Reply
    7. Tracey says

      April 15, 2015 at 11:11 am

      In our family, this type of meal is referred to as "pasta bake"....never particularly pretty, nor does it matter what the ingredients, as long as it is mixed with pasta, topped with cheese and popped in the oven, it is devoured and loved by all. They will definitely look forward to this one.

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Fabulous Foodie Fridays #45 - zamamabakes.com zamamabakes.com says:
      at

      […] called dinner to think about every single night of the week! I’m loving the series Cooker And A Looker is putting together, ‘The Good The Yum & The Ugly’. This Mince and Macaroni […]

      Reply

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