>Macaroni: 16oz--------------->Tomatoes: 74oz>Meat: 26oz>Beans: 15oz>Broth: 12oz>Cheese: 10oz>Chilies: 5ozRatio of Macaroni to Other Ingredients: 11.26%Perceived dish composition:OOPS ALL MACARONI!I get that it absorbs moisture from the other ingredients, but I why was it not fully saturated by the initial cooking process when it was boiled in water? What is the secret to saucy chili-mac?
>beansEthnic group of the receipy writer?
The macaroni absorbs water and gets larger while the other ingredients lose water and become smaller. It's not that strange.
>>21755060The heat from the cooktop cooks the pasta.
>>21755060If you fully saturated pasta during the initial cooking it would be mushy. Starch absorbs a lot of water.Some people will keep the pasta separate and only add it to their own dish with everything else right before eating so it won't absorb much of the liquid. Otherwise you'll have to overcook the pasta a bit and add more liquid after.It's why I dislike baked mac and cheese because it absorbs liquid from the cheese sauce and dries it out a bit or makes it split.
>>21755060After boiling and straining, douse the pasta in olive oil to create a coating that will prevent it from absorbing more moisture from your sauce
>>21755421That also stops the sauce from really staying on the noodles tho>>21755060> Are you using whole tomatoes or what type of canned?> is it a can of beans and are you draining the can?> are you browning the beef and then adding everything else?Your post isn’t descriptive enough to figure out exactly why this is happening. The easiest solution would be to follow a recipe for the chili texture you prefer, and put that on top of macaroni. Or, if you really need it in one pot, follow the recipe below if it looks good to you. It likely has more body from using more vegetables and potentially the crushed tomatoes. Also, the macaroni soaking up all the broth will be yummy.https://beanrecipes.com/chili-mac/#mv-creation-61-jtr
>>21755514-3 15.5oz cans of petite diced tomatoes, 1 28oz jar of marinara sauce-Yes, one can of beans, drained and washed-Yes, I brown the ground meat (chicken in this case since it was half the price of beef) in a skillet separately and then transfer it to the main pot with the cooked/drained pasta, followed by everything else, and then cook it all together for a short time before turning it down to a simmer.>>21755227>>21755514I think keeping the pasta separate and mixing the chili on top sounds like a good solution, I hadn't considered that, thanks.
