In a large oversized frying pan over medium heat, cook onion with olive oil until onions are clear and light brown.
Add Italian seasoning, minced garlic, pepper and salt to the frying pan. Stir to mix.
Add ground beef to the frying pan and cook until browned (thoroughly cooked). Drain any excess grease.
While ground beef is cooking, cook macaroni in a large pot of boiling water for 5-7 minutes (until al dente). Do not overcook the macaroni or it will become too soft to hold its shape in the casserole. Strain cooked macaroni and set aside.
Add crushed tomatoes and beef broth to the cooked ground beef mixture. Stir well to mix. Cook over medium heat until it reaches a light simmer.
Add cooked macaroni to ground beef mixture and stir well to mix.
Add two cups of shredded cheese to the ground beef mixture and stir well to mix.
Pour mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese over top.
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove aluminum foil and let it bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve hot.
Notes
You can use any smaller pasta in this recipe.
If you use a lan ground beef (90%) you won't have any excess grease to drain after it cooks.
Easily cut this in half to serve a smaller family.
Other meats such as ground turkey, chicken and sausage can be used.
This can be frozen, see my tips above on how you can do that.