Pizza Mac-N-Cheese by Tish

Posted by carsimulator on Monday, October 5, 2009

What You Need!
1 can (8 oz.) pizza sauce, divided ( I just use 1 cup of Ragu spaghetti sauce)
1 pkg. (7-1/4 oz.) KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, prepared as directed on package (I used Kraft shells and cheese dinner for this recipe)
1 lb. extra lean ground beef, cooked, divided ( I always season my ground beef with a little salt and pepper)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves (I used 1 tsp of Italian seasoning)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (I used same amount of Tastefully Simple Garlic, Garlic)
1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Assemble and Freeze:
Remove and set aside 1/4 cup of the pizza sauce for later use. Combine already prepared mac-n-cheese Dinner, two-thirds of the meat, the remaining pizza sauce, egg and seasonings.

SPOON evenly into baking dish or aluminum pan. Top with the remaining meat and reserved 1/4 cup pizza sauce;(I left the shredded cheese off and put it in a separate bag for folks to add at last 5 minutes of baking.) Wrap tightly with 2 layers of aluminum foil or heavy duty aluminum foil and place inside extra large freezer bag if desired.

Prepare:
Remove from freezer and thaw COMPLETELY! Then preheat oven to 400 degrees F and remove foil from pan. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes till hot. Then remove and add shredded cheese to top of dish and return to oven just till melted. Remove and let stand 5 minutes before serving.