members recipes

This dish has the best of both Italian and Mexican flavours. Zesty taco meat and chopped tomatoes combined with pasta in a creamy cheese sauce, covered in a crunchy tortilla and parmesan topping! It\'s so fab, it\'s like a Versace sombrero.

Ingredients
1 lb extra lean ground beef

2 tbsp taco seasoning

3/4 cup water

4 cups dry pasta

1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

2 cups extra old cheddar, shredded

2 large handfuls of tortilla chips

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Method
Brown the ground beef in a pan. Add the taco seasoning and water, and simmer over medium heat until most of the water evaporates (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. When done and drained, combine the pasta, beef mixture, and tomatoes in a large casserole dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).

To make the cheese sauce, combine the olive oil and flour in a medium sauce pan, stirring over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Add the milk and stir with a whisk over medium/high heat until it comes to a boil. Continue boiling another 30-60 seconds to thicken. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta.

Finally, the crunchy topping! Grind the tortilla chips in a small food processor (you could just crush \'em too), then combine them with the parmesan in a small bowl and stir to combine. Sprinkle the topping over the tacoroni. Bake the whole thing until the topping is golden and gorgeous, about 30-35 minutes.

This recipe is part of my Menu Mashups series on my blog: http://familyfeedbag.blogspot.com/2011/03/menu-mashups-tacoroni.html