Taco Mac and Cheese

I had some leftover Cafe Rio Taco meat in the freezer and decided to make Taco Mac for an easy meal. {Taco Rio taco Meat is ground chuck, Rotel, a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix, and taco seasoning - so good!}

I've been trying to add more veggies into meals, so this time around I added some frozen roasted corn (thawed out), a red bell pepper, and a few grape tomatoes (not shown).  I had about a cup of leftover taco meat, and about a cup of grated monterrey jack cheese, too.

While I boiled the macaroni, I sauteed the peppers in a little oil, then added the corn and the tomatoes, sliced.  Then I heated it all up a bit and set it aside.

The cooked meat was thawed and didn't really need to be heated - I am making this meal early in the day before I go to work.

 After I made the mac and cheese per the box instructions, I stirred everything else in, plated it up, covered with saran wrap. and put in the fridge. All my peeps need to do is heat their plate at whatever time they straggle in from school or work.  I enjoyed mine that evening, for sure!

After I was done I realized what a wreck the cooktop was getting to be so I gave it a deep clean.  I guess I never had because it was pretty grungy.  I wiped everything down - so shiny and clean now!  Dinner and a spring cleaning item done in the space of about an hour - not too bad.