Wuff went out on his BD weekend and cooked a batch of goodies for a friend, so they could have some quick-heat, filling foods for a few weeks to come. Most of those wuffy made were done in a "Multi-Pot" instant pot style cooker for convenience and quick turn-around and cleanup.

Here's a real "Stick to your ribs" version of Macaroni & Cheese kicked up with hamburger to make it a full meal. This is basically a do-it-yourself version of Hamburger Helper, Instant-Pot style. And it creates a very tasty meal that will serve a huge crowd and do it very inexpensively.

The "instant pot" technique also means this dish is almost error-proof, totally easy to create, VERY quick, with very little effort on the part of the cook. Add all that to "Tasty" and "Inexpensive", and this is a great recipe to keep on hand.

Makes about 10-12 servings, depending on the hunger of the guests, since this is quite a filling dish.

NOTE: Since we're making this in the instant pot, draining off extra fat from the meat is a little more trouble than normal. So if you have the extra coins, splurge on a leaner mix of burger. 90% or better lean to fat ratio is best here.

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs lean Hamburger (try for 90% or better if you can)
1 lb Pasta of Choice (Macaroni elbows, Cavatappi, Rotinni, Penne or Penne Rigati are all good!)
1 box cheep Mac & Cheese (for the cheese mix powder)
1 Onion, diced
1-2 TBS Cooking Oil (or Olive Oil)
2 TBS Minced Garlic
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Seasoned Salt (Lawry's, etc)
1 tsp ground Black Pepper
5 C Chicken Stock (or 5 C hot water + 1 1/2 TBS Better Than Bullion Chicken Base)
8 oz grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
8 oz grated Monterey Jack Cheese
8-12 oz Velveeta Cheese Product
1/2 C grated Parmesan Cheese
~2 C Milk
Optional: 1 lb sliced mushrooms

Instant Pot or similar Multi-Cooker

DIRECTIONS:
Set the Pot to "Saute" or "Brown" mode, and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the lean Hamburger. Allow to sear and then stir and break up the chunks into small size. Keep frying until most of the pink is gone.

Then add the onions, and if using, the Optional mushrooms. Sprinkle with the garlic & onion powder, seasoned salt, and pepper. Continue to cook until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms (if using) have given up much of their liquid.

Add the minced garlic and allow to cook another minute or so

Then add the powdered cheese mix from the box of mac & cheese to the meat and stir it in. It will mix with the fats from the meat and add to the flavors of the burger, melding it with the cheese sauce for the pasta. Let it cook for another minute to blend

Add the chicken stock and stir once, then pour on the mac from the box mix and your pound of selected pasta. DO NOT STIR IN, as this can make the pasta glue-y and clump. Just press it down with a spoon to make sure it's all submerged

Switch the pot from Saute/Brown to Pressure mode. Set for High pressure, 9 minutes, put on the lid and make sure the vent is sent to pressure. Allow to pressure cook and do a quick release when time is up

Remove the lid and immediately stir the pasta into the meat and liquids. While still hot and bubbly, stir in all the grated cheeses. It helps to cut up the block of Velveeta into chucks to make melting easier

Once all the cheese has melted into the pasta, gradually stir in the milk until the desired creaminess of the mixture is reached. Note that this will thicken even more as it cools, so take that into account

Taste, and adjust seasoning as desired.

NOTE: If desired, you can kick this up with a bit of Aleppo or Cayenne pepper, but remember it gets "warmer" if you refrigerate it.

Serve into a bowl.

!DEVOUR!