Mac-O-Lantern

It’s almost Halloween. I thought I’d share an easy and fun recipe to make with the kids or to make for the kids at heart. The unbaked peppers look so cute, but the baked ones look perfectly scary for Halloween with their shrinking skins and their (unintentional) burnt tops. Feel free to stuff your peppers with rice, quinoa and other vegetables if you want to go vegetarian. I just thought the macaroni and cheese resembled the pumpkin innards which made this more fun.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 pounds of lean ground beef (or turkey or chicken)
• 1/2 of a red onion. diced
• 1/2 a cup of spaghetti or tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 box (7.25 ounces) Kraft macaroni and cheese (or any other brand)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 6 orange bell peppers

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
2. Foil line a small baking sheet.
3. In a large skillet, brown the ground meat over medium high heat. Drain excess fat.
4. Add onions and cook until almost translucent.
5. Add spaghetti/tomato sauce, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Stir until well mixed and turn off heat.
6. Prepare macaroni and cheese according to package using the butter and milk.
7. Meanwhile, cut the bell peppers into jack-o-lanterns. Discard the seeds and white membranes. Be sure to leave enough of the top to use as a lid. I like to make sure there is enough opening in the mouths I carve so you can see the noodle mixture coming out like pumpkin guts.
8. Once your macaroni and cheese is ready, combine in your large skillet with your meat mixture. Mix well.
9. Stuff your peppers with the noodle and meat mixture. Put them on your prepared foil lined baking sheet.
10. Bake for 25-30 minutes until bell peppers are tender.

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