It's not hard to please a man...

in the kitchen anyways!!
This is probably my husband Eric's favorite meal...and it's what I make when I forget to plan dinner and have ground beef set out. Gabriel eats it too!! It's super easy and cheap, and much healthier than boxed Hamburger Helper meals.

Macaroni Cheese and Beef

You will need:

1 Box Kraft Macaroni (or any other brand you prefer)
1 lb. ground beef
4 hefty shakes of Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and Pepper
Onion Powder, garlic powder, and season-all (Optional but recommended)

1. Brown your beef!!! Drain and set aside. I pour mine into a bowl so I can just rinse out the pot I cooked it in and use it again to cook my macaroni.....less clean up work!

2. Boil your macaroni for 8 minutes

3. Drain macaroni...add cheese packet, 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup milk. Add your beef. I also throw in a couple of slices of American cheese if I have them.....extra cheese is never a bad thing!!

4. Mix together well on low heat. Serve in bowls with ketchup!!

I served this last night with a side-dish of Parmesan baked tomatoes. I have only been doing 'grown-up' cooking for three years now so my cooking skills still lack a lot of range. I don't have a huge reserve of vegetable cooking skills built up yet, so I tend to gravitate towards recipes that involve my favorite veggie, tomatoes. This was fast and easy, plus very good for you since it's veggies without any crazy calories or fat added (which you have to do a lot in veggie recipes to make them taste good...):

Parmesan Tomatoes

You will need:

-Vine-ripened tomatoes (you can find these at Wal-mart and pretty much any grocery store. They like to leave the vines on so you get the picture, hehe)
-Grated Parmesan cheese
-Salt and lots of pepper
-Dried Oregano OR dried Basil
-Garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Wash and slice your tomatoes in slices approximately 1/3 inch. thick

3. Place tomatoes on baking sheet. I lined mine with foil so clean-up would be easier. Can you tell I like easier clean-up yet?
4. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic. Don't overdo the garlic. Then sprinkle with your parmesan.

5. Cook on top rack of oven for about ten minutes.