Velveeta Nacho Bake

I didn't imagine that I'd be writing my first cooking-related blog post with the word "Velveeta" in the title, 'cause I generally try to avoid that stuff whenever possible. But most nights when I get home from work, I want to make something relatively quick and easy. We both like this meal - the ultimate comfort food mix of mac and cheese plus Mexican (sorta). Plus I had some extra sour cream from another recipe and some tortilla chip crumbs in the bottom of the bag just begging to be used! Here it is, straight from the Kraft website:

Velveeta Nacho Bake

Prep Time: 15 min Total Time: 35 min Makes: 6 servings

1 pkg. (12 oz.) VELVEETA Shells & Cheese Dinner

1 lb. ground beef

1 pkg. (1-1/4 oz.) TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Taco Seasoning Mix (I used one of the many homemade recipes out there)

3/4 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

3/4 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided

3/4 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa

1/2 cup coarsely crushed tortilla chips

Heat oven to 400°F. Prepare Dinner as directed on package. While Macaroni is cooking, cook meat with taco seasoning as directed on package.

Stir sour cream into prepared Dinner. Spoon 1/2 of Dinner mixture into 8-inch square baking dish; top with layers of meat mixture, 1/2 of Cheddar and remaining Dinner mixture. Cover.

Bake 15 min.; top with salsa, remaining Cheddar and crushed chips. Bake, uncovered, 5 min.

I ended up using an 11x7 pan since my square one was otherwise occupied. And obviously it doesn't really matter what brand of all that stuff you use. I also baked up a simple recipe for Cumin Cheddar Corn bread (basically you add 3/4 tsp cumin and 1/2 c shredded cheddar to a regular cornbread recipe or mix before baking), but I personally didn't think it was anything special or worth posting pics. Shaun didn't even know it was different than regular cornbread until I told him during dinner, lol.