Mild Mannered Mexi-Bake

‘Mild Mannered Mexi-Bake’

 Recipe by Windy Hamilton

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk

6 cups of shredded Mexican style cheese blend

2 cans of beanless chili (or hot dog chili) 15 oz each

1 package of fajita mix

1 ½ pounds of elbow macaroni

4 tablespoons butter or margarine

Boil macaroni fully (you want it to be large and soft but not falling apart).  Drain, add margarine and stir until fully melted/coated.  In a separate pan bring the milk to simmer, add 2 ¾ to 3 cups of the shredded cheese and remove from heat, stirring until cheese is fully melted, add fajita mix (stir well).  Add mixture to the noodles and stir until fully incorporated (careful not to shred the noodles). 

In large baking dish spread a layer of noodle mixture, spread 1 can of chili (it helps to warm it up a bit before), spread thick layer of cheese, spread a second layer of noodle mix, spread remaining can of chili, spread last of cheese on top. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 mins.  Let cool before cutting it will be very bubbly when you remove from the oven.

Alternative: if so desired you can add diced vegetables to the noodle mix such as diced onions or peppers, but it really changes the flavor and makes is not so mild anymore…If you do wish to add something stick with savory vegetables such as carrots (extremely thinly sliced) or potatoes.  Potatoes soak up a lot of liquid so you may need to add more milk to the mixture when melting the milk and cheese together.