Turn ground beef into this hearty, cheesy pasta bake inspired by a Philly cheesesteak sandwich. It's one of my favorite skillet meals and a crowd pleaser. It's an easy recipe to use ground beef in a new way.
2largegreen pepperscut into ½-inch by 1-2-inch pieces
2tbspflour
2cupsmilk
4ozJack cheesegrated; divided
2ozAmerican cheesegrated or torn into small pieces
½cuppanko bread crumbs
½tbspbuttermelted
salt & black pepperto taste
Instructions
Place a large pot of water over high heat. Season with a couple of tablespoons of kosher salt. Bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside. Do this step while you're prepping the other ingredients to save time.
Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
Place a 12-inch cast iron skillet (or an oven safe, high sided skillet around the same diameter) over medium high heat until it just starts to smoke. Form your ground beef into a very large patty. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper on both sides. Once your pan is hot, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Then place your beef patty into the pan and let the first side brown for 2-3 minutes until very deeply browned.Use a spatula to gently flip the beef (it might fall apart a bit, don't worry, just smoosh it back together.) Let the second side brown for another 2-3 minutes.Then use the spatula to break up the beef into small chunks. Cook until the beef is mostly cooked through and there's just a bit of pink left. Transfer it to a medium bowl.
Add the mushrooms to the pan with another teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cook until most of the water evaporates from the mushrooms and the mushrooms brown. This will take about 7-10 minutes.Once your mushrooms are done, move to the bowl with the beef.
Add the peppers and onions to the pan with another teaspoon of olive oil and pinch of salt. Cook until the vegetables soften and start to brown. The onions should start turning translucent. This will take about 10-minutes.
Once the vegetables are done, add the mushrooms and ground beef back to the pan. Sprinkle the mixture with flour. Stir to coat with flour and cook for about a minute to allow the flour to toast. Slowly pour in the milk while stirring. Bring to a boil and allow the mixture to thicken slightly. Then stir in 2 oz of Jack cheese and 2 oz of American cheese. Mix well. Taste your cheesy sauce at this point and add more salt and pepper as needed.Then add the pasta and mix well to combine.
Sprinkle the top of the pasta with the remaining Jack cheese.Mix the panko breadcrumbs and melted butter together until the panko is well coated in butter. Then sprinkle evenly over the pasta.
Bake for 15 minutes until the pasta is bubbling and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.