Ingredients
- 1 package penne pasta
- Water, as needed
- 2 pounds ground beef
- ½ tablespoon canola oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or chili powder)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta following the directions on the package and drain it.
- Meanwhile you can cook the meat in the oil in a skillet until cooked through.
- Drain off any excess fat.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Turn the heat down on the stove and mix in the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper or chili powder, cream cheese, and half the shredded cheddar.
- Combine the pasta with the beef mixture.
- Pour this into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheddar on top.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Omit the cayenne or chili powder if you don’t want this spicy, or increase it if you’re a
spice-lover!
You can lower the fat content if you want by using extra-lean ground beef and reduced fat cream cheese and cheddar.
