The Cheap And Easy Old-School Dinner You Can Make Any Day Of The Week

Macaroni and cheese may be the ultimate old-school comfort food, no matter what age you are. It's warm, cheesy, and easy to make, even from scratch. However, maybe you're seeking a bit of variety or want to stretch your budget for family meals. Luckily, you can upgrade your mac and cheese with just one packet of taco seasoning and a little ground beef.

There are a few ways to do this hack, but all of them are very easy. If you want the simplest, just make a normal box of Kraft Dinner according to the recipe on the box. Brown 1 pound of ground beef and season it with a packet of taco seasoning as per the packet's instructions, then mix that in near the end of cooking. That's really all there is to it! Redditors who swear by this recipe say it's the "laziest dinner ever" and that "it tastes really good."

If you'd rather be more fancy, you can use macaroni noodles or shells and make your own cheese sauce from scratch. Use cheddar cheese with milk, flour, and butter, then heat and stir it until it becomes smooth and velvety. As with the boxed recipe, add some seasoned ground beef and taco seasonings to the recipe at the end. For an extra cheese pull, top it all with shredded Mexican cheese blend for an additional cheese pull. With these basic additions, you can turn plain mac and cheese into a delicious dinner that's big enough to feed a whole family. If you're looking to take even more work out of this fun dish, keep in mind that Hamburger Helper makes its own version of beefy mac and cheese, which has an extra-easy-to-make sauce.

Taco seasoning is a great way to spice up ordinary dishes ranging from mac and cheese to roasted veggies. With that said, the mac and cheese itself is also highly adaptable. If you want to make taco macaroni a little healthier, you can mix in frozen vegetables for a cheesy meal that helps the little ones get their greens. For a spicy Latin kick, mix in canned tomatoes, peppers, onions, and hot sauce. If you're cutting out red meat, use some ground turkey or shredded chicken instead. You can also top the taco mac with crumbled corn chips or taco shells for a texture change-up. You can even add shredded lettuce, tomato, and sour cream to turn it into a taco bowl. Feel free to experiment, as there are tons of ways to beef up this beefy staple while keeping things cheap.

There are a few ingredients you should avoid adding to your mac and cheese, though. Cheese that doesn't melt easily can leave you with a chunky or grainy sauce texture that's no fun to eat. Conversely, vegetables that have a high water content, such as cabbage, can make your mac too thin and runny. Then there's almond milk, which may not have enough fat to blend and thicken properly when sauce packets and taco seasonings are added, leading to a disappointing meal. Adding strong citrus can also make dairy-based sauces curdle, so if you want a squeeze of lime over your taco mac, add it right before eating. While you should enjoy making tweaks and changes to your taco mac, sometimes keeping it simple is the recipe for success.