Cajun Macaroni and Cheese Skillet

The Christmas cookbook I got from my mom this year is The $5 Dinner Mom One-Dish Dinners Cookbook.  Apparently there is a famous mom (she can't be THAT famous because her name is unknown to everyone I've asked) who has made a living from creating and publishing recipes for meals that can be made for under $5 for a family of 4-6.  Beside every ingredient in her ingredient list, she puts a price of what that ingredient would cost her (even the spices, which must have been tedious to figure out), and then a total at the end.  The catch is she's like an extreme couponer, and the price she puts is the lowest price she can get on an item in a year, or something like that.  She puts the cost of a pound of ground beef at $1.49, because if you watch sales and use coupons, you can get it for that price sometimes (really...and this cookbook just came out in 2012, so this isn't from like 1999 or something...she really thinks we could get ground beef for that price).  She puts a can of tomatoes at $0.20 for the same reason.  So it's not like I can walk into the Walmart and buy the ingredients for most of these recipes for under $5.  But they are still economical recipes using cheaper cuts of meat.  There are also tips for buying in bulk and freezing, and prepping ahead and things like that.  So it was good to read through, and I have many many recipes marked to try.  This is the debut recipe...

Cajun Macaroni and Cheese Skillet
1 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tbsp creole seasoning (I had to buy this...it's in a big container (like salt) in the spice aisle)
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups hot water
2 cups elbow macaroni
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet brown the ground beef.  Drain.  Add the peppers, onions, celery, and Creole seasoning.  Saute for 4-5 minutes or until onions are translucent.  Stir in the tomatoes.  Add the milk and hot water.  Stir in the macaroni and press into the liquid.  Cover and let cook for 8-10 minutes.  Uncover once halfway through the cooking time and stir the macaroni to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.  When the pasta is al dente, remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the sour cream and shredded cheese.  Let cool slightly before serving.  Serve with fresh fruit if desired.  Makes 4 servings.

Wow.  This was spicy.  Also it tasted really good.  And weirdly, the kids all liked it.  Even the picky ones.  They kept eating and saying how spicy it was.  This was a lot like our family's version of goulash (after extensive research I have learned every family has their own version, and sometimes they call it chop suey instead of goulash) but spicier.  It wasn't crazy spicy, but you could definitely feel the heat.  Sam said he wouldn't be eating any of the leftovers because it was too hot, and he is the kid who likes hot stuff.  Nathan and Emma kept eating and eating until I told them they had eaten enough and could stop, and they were like "phew!" But they never asked if they could be done, like they usually do.  So I don't really know what to do with this recipe...