Our church is experiencing a flurry of new babies and I’m on the team that delivers meals to new mamas! I adore getting to see the tiny humans when I drop off the meal and I LOVE getting to serve new moms in this way. A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of taking a meal to a family I hadn’t met who just had their first little girl…a fiery little red head. She was so sweet and snuggly!

I was making a giant pot of chili already for our family and ended up doubling up so I could make this for them to enjoy…a few times over!

Another thing I always do when taking a meal to a new family is take all disposable plates, spoons, etc. so they don’t have to do the dishes! FTW!!!

If you’re looking for any easy chili recipe for this, use my Slow Cooker Chili and then when it’s time to assemble, you can cook the pasta to al dente, mix together, top with cheese…bake and deliver with a salad kit or other veggie 🙂

Note: This recipe is written for 2 – 9×13 inch sized baking dishes or pans. You can serve one and freeze the other! 

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Chili Pasta Bake

The perfect 'take to someone who had a baby or surgery' meal.

Prep Time15 minutes minutes

Cook Time45 minutes minutes

Servings - 16 servings

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• 16 oz. bag dried pinto or red kidney beans
• 1 lb. ground beef browned
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper seeded and chopped
• 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb. pasta noodles, small shells or elbows
• 2 cups shredded sharp or medium cheddar cheese

Instructions

• Prepare the slow cooker chili: Soak the dried beans for at least 1 hour in warm water. Drain and add to the slow cooker with the browned ground beef, chopped onion and bell pepper, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, garlic powder and 7 CUPS of water. Set on low and cook for 8 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• About an 45 minutes before you need to deliver it or serve it...cook the pasta as directed in a saucepan, to al dente. The pasta will soak up some of the liquid from the chili when it bakes, so don't overboil the pasta!
• Mix together the cooked chili and the cooked pasta in 2 baking dishes, top with about a cup of shredded cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
• Serve (or deliver or freeze) the Chili Pasta Bake with a veggie or simple salad kit.