For this recipe we are using 85/15 ground beef (feel free to use whatever ground protein you prefer - but if you’re using beef, try to use beef broth as well).

Dice 1 onion and a bell pepper, grate some cheese, measure your ingredients out and you’re almost done already.

I recommend shredding your own cheese. The store bought pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking agents like Potato Starch etc which prevent the cheese from clumping together.

First up, we are frying some thick cut bacon. Second, we are going to cook our ground beef right in that rendered bacon fat.

Once the bacon is nice and crispy, remove it from the skillet and add in your ground beef. Ensure to press it flat into the skillet so that you can develop some nice color and crust.

Season this a bit with all purpose or salt and pepper. Once the beef is browned nicely, flip it over and break it up with your spatula. Now it’s time to add in the veggies.

You can go ahead and preheat your oven to 375 degrees at this point.

Bring that to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. The liquid will cook off substantially after a minute or two. Now it’s time for the tomato paste and garlic.

Garnish with chopped parsley or chives and serve!

We will also add in our brown sugar, ketchup, dijon mustard, sun-dried tomatoes, and season to taste at this point. Go ahead and cook your pasta per package instructions and drain.

Once the pasta is done, add it to your meat mixture and mix to combine.

I like to had ¾ of my cheese to this and give it a good mix. Then top the skillet with the remainder of cheese and pop in the oven at 375 for about 15 minutes.