Possible Cooking Methods: Stovetop Pressure Cooker
This is a true comfort food dinner – a combination of macaroni and cheese and chili all together in one bowl. Because you cook the pasta right in the sauce you are making, there’s no need for an extra pot of boiling water, plus the pasta absorbs the delicious sauce flavor as it cooks. This works really well in the pressure cooker, but the slow cooker is not a great option because the pasta can get so overcooked. If you do make this dinner in your pressure cooker, but would prefer to serve it family style, transfer the pasta to a warmed serving dish right after you add the first half of the Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and then cover the dish with foil or plastic wrap to trap the steam and let the cheese melt. Sprinkle the scallions on at the end and serve.
1 pound ground beef
½ onion, diced
½ green bell pepper, diced
½ red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
2½ cups beef stock
½ pound dried wagon wheel or bow-tie shaped pasta
3 cups grated Cheddar cheese, divided
chopped scallions, for garnish
Stovetop Directions
Serves:4
Cooking Time:25 minutes
1. Pre-heat a large 12-inch sauté pan or skillet over medium- high heat. Add the ground beef and onion to the pan and brown. Discard most of the fat from the pan. Add peppers to the pan and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and freshly ground black pepper and sauté for another minute. Add the diced tomatoes, black beans and corn and bring the mixture to a simmer.
2. Pour in the beef stock and dried pasta. Stir to combine and bring everything to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Gently stir in half of the Cheddar cheese until it is melted throughout. Turn off the heat and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, do not stir. Return the lid to the pan to melt the cheese for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped scallions and serve.
Additional Cooking Directions for
Pressure Cooker Directions
Serves:4
Cooking Time:11 minutes
Change Ingredients: Use bow-tie pasta – wagon wheel pasta doesn’t hold up well in the pressure cooker
1. Pre-heat a 6-quart multi-function pressure cooker using the BROWN or SAUTE setting.
2. Add the ground beef and onions to the cooker and brown until the meat is no longer pink. Pour off most of the fat from the cooker, stir in the red and green peppers, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook for another minute or so. (If your cooker doesn’t have a brown setting, use a skillet on the stovetop for the steps above and transfer the contents to the cooker now.) Add the diced tomatoes, black beans, corn, beef stock and dried bow-tie pasta. Cover and lock the lid in place.
3. Pressure cook on HIGH for 6 minutes.
4. Release the pressure with the QUICK-RELEASE method and carefully remove the lid.
5. Add half of the Cheddar cheese and gently stir until the cheese is melted throughout. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, return the lid to the cooker and let the pasta sit for a couple of minutes. This will melt the cheese and cool the pasta to an edible temperature. Transfer the pasta to serving bowls and sprinkle with the chopped scallions.
