Cheeseburger Pasta

It's Velveeta, versus cheddar! Our Velveeta, melts much better. Cheddar's lumpy, cheddar's oily. It runs off of your plate onto to your doily!

Does anyone but me remember that jingle? It must be, oh, 15 years old by now? But it's always what pops into my head when I hear "Velveeta." I've actually never cooked with Velveeta before. I guess I've just never had cause to. But when I spotted this quick and simple recipe on my good friend Lauren's blog I decided it was time to grab some Velveeta.

Upon spotting the Velveeta on the counter when I was making dinner, Joe got super excited and told me how his dad used to buy it all the time when he was a kid and how much he'd loved it. He asked for a piece to snack on, then promptly declared it to be not nearly as good as he remembered. Isn't that always the way? But being that I had no fond childhood memories involving processed cheese, I found it to be quite tasty. And I loved it in this pasta! This was a lot like hamburger helper, but with more flavor and way less sodium and chemicals. I found myself sneaking bites of the leftovers from the pan as I was cleaning up from dinner, so it was definitely a winner. Kids are sure to love this too!

Cheeseburger Pasta

1 lb ground turkey breast
1 onion, diced
2 3/4 cups water
1/3 cup ketchup
1T mustard
2 cups elbow mac, uncooked
4 oz reduced fat Velveeta, cubed

Brown meat in a large skillet, drain.

Add water, ketchup, onion powder and mix well.

Bring to a boil and add mac. Simmer on med-low heat, covered, for 8-10 minutes (until pasta tender).

Stir in Velveeta and cook until melted, stirring occasionally.