Colby Macaroni and Cheese with Tomatoes

I really liked it! A good simple meal for a quick weeknight dinner. I too cut back on the amount of macaroni, but used 1.5 cans of stewed, diced tomatoes, some butter and two crushed garlic cloves in addition to the cheese. Oh and I used sharp cheddar, monterey jack and mozzarella (all I had on hand), as well as a spoonful of sour cream, and it came out just fine. I imagine some cooked ground beef, turkey or shredded chicken would also go well with this dish. Lots of options for a meal like this one and served with a nice side salad and some bread, it makes an easy and quick dinner for a hungry family.  -  30 Jul 2007  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)

This has been a family recipe for over 50 years - my mom and grandmother ran a restaurant and this was on our menu every Friday! A few changes we make - we use canned whole tomatoes and squish them up with our fingers - they just always seem juicier and some folks don't like stewed tomatoes or always have them on hand. We also add a lot of ground black pepper (I prefer fresh cracked but you can use ready-ground too). Just as a note - this is NOT a creamy mac and cheese recipe - not meant to be! The cheese will be rather clumpy and not spread throughout but it is marvelous that way! One hint - if you do have leftovers, saute them in a little butter/margarine the next day - even better!!!!  -  15 Mar 2009  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)

I used only 1 lb. of medium shells but 2 cans of tomatoes and more cheese than called for, cutting the cubes into smaller pieces - used colby/jack, cheddar, and a few cut up slices of muenster. I also mixed in about a tablespoon of butter into the hot, drained shells and mixed in the cheese, tomatoes, S&P,and some garlic in the hot pot to melt it down a little before putting into baking dish. Came out GREAT and the leftovers reheated better than expected, too!  -  05 Dec 2006  (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)