Meatball macaroni and cheese

Serves:

This unusual pasta bake has layers of yummy meatballs, creamy sauce, and pasta for a filling dinner that the whole family will love. Make two and pop one in the freezer so you always have a tasty meal to hand.

Serving Suggestions

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Meatball macaroni and cheese

Serves:

Ingredients

• 200g mince
• half a small onion, finely chopped
• half a cup basil, or parsley
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs, plus a half cup more for topping

• 50g butter, plus 1 teaspoon for buttering dish and 2 tablespoons more for topping
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup tasty cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 250g macaroni or any small pasta, cooked and cooled

Method

In a mixing bowl, mix together the mince, onions, herbs and 1/3 cup breadcrumbs.

Roll into 3cm balls and place onto a plate or baking sheet and chill in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 180C. Butter a lasagne dish with the 1 teaspoon butter and set aside.

In a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, melt the 50g butter. Once melted, add flour to the pan and stir to make a paste.

Gradually whisk milk in, adding salt and pepper to taste. Keep whisking until it begins to bubble and thicken then stir cheese through until melted and remove from heat.

In a frying pan, bring the oil to a medium heat and brown the meatballs on all sides, setting them aside once browned.

Melt the last 2 tbsp butter and mix the last half a cup of breadcrumbs through.

Layer half the pasta, then the cheesy sauce, then pasta, the meatballs and lastly, pour over the remaining cheese sauce.

Top with breadcrumbs and bake for 20-25 minutes until top is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Notes:

• This really needs to be served with a green salad of some sort as its really rich.
• This reminds me of a cheese-burger type bake – really yum!
• I used some thick alphabet pasta I had leftover in the pantry and it was really cute!
• This recipe was created by Kristine Duran-Thiessen for Kidspot, New Zealand’s best recipe finder

Serving Suggestions

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