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The Chirping Moms

An Easy Weeknight Recipe: Taco Pasta Shells

September 11, 2012

We love Mexican food & usually alternate between tacos & burritos. This is a great alternative to mix it up! A friend recommended these years ago and Taco Pasta Shells are an easy weeknight recipe.

I ended up adding some black beans into the meat mix (I add beans to everything). You could probably make it with just beans for a vegetarian version.

 

Taco Pasta Shells

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground lean turkey

1 package low-sodium taco seasoning

4 oz. fat free cream cheese

14-16 jumbo pasta shells

1.5 cup salsa (Any kind is good, but I like using this Rick Bayless salsa)

1 cup taco sauce (I like to use one of the Rick Bayless sauces for more flavor)

2 cups reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese (you can also do 1 cup Cheddar, 1 cup Monterey Jack

 

Optional Toppings:

Fat free sour cream

Guacamole

Black Olives

Green Onions

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° and put a large pot of water on the stove to boil.

In a large frying pan, cook the ground turkey and taco seasoning. Prepare according to package directions.  Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Make sure you stir well and then set the pan aside and let the turkey cool completely.While you’re cooking the turkey, cook the pasta shells according to the directions. Drain the shells and set them out individually on a baking sheet or a cutting board so they don’t stick together. If you leave them in the pot too long and they start to stick, you can always spray a little olive oil on each shell.To assemble, first pour salsa on the bottom of a 9 X 13 baking dish. Next, stuff each shell with the turkey mixture and place them in the pan – make sure the open side is facing up. Cover the shells with taco sauce.

Cover your dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and cover the shells with the shredded cheese. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese has melted.

Now you’re ready to serve! Top each serving with other garnishes such as guacamole, black olives, green onions or more salsa and sour cream.

One more weeknight recipe:

BBQ Chicken and Pineapple Pizza

1 Pizza Crust (I either make a homemade crust in our bread machine or pick up some store-bought dough!)

1/2 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 C. Mozzarella Cheese

2 Chicken Breasts, Cooked and Shredded (I usually just cook them in the Crock-Pot during the day)

 

1/4 C. Ranch salad dressing

 

1/2 C. BBQ sauce, and a little more to brush on the pizza crust
Fresh Pineapple, cut into pieces (or you can always used canned pineapple)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Pre-bake the pizza crust for about 10 minutes.  Toss the cooked, shredded chicken breasts in the BBQ sauce. Brush the pizza crust with a thin layer of BBQ sauce. Spread on the ranch dressing. Top with the cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese.  Add chicken and pineapple.  Bake for about 15 minutes until all the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown.

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: Tuesday

Comments

  1. Ann says

    September 11, 2012 at 2:18 pm

    Cute table decor- love the colors!

    Reply
  2. brynmj says

    September 11, 2012 at 2:44 pm

    I love the green chevron!

    Reply
  3. Mrs. Baker says

    September 11, 2012 at 4:59 pm

    i love the ikat drew berries!

    Reply
  4. Jessica says

    September 11, 2012 at 5:52 pm

    The chipper twill grey storm patterned stuff is so fun.

    Reply
  5. Christie says

    September 11, 2012 at 6:09 pm

    Love this!! Thanks for the giveaway…and I'm your newest follower!

    Christie
    http://satisfactionthroughchrist.blogspot.com

    Reply
  6. Nicole says

    September 11, 2012 at 6:23 pm

    I SOOOO want to win that Light Tangerine Table Runner because, guess what… that is THE color I just accent painted the wall in our dining/living area! Eeee! it would go perfectly!

    Reply
  7. LoveHoney says

    September 11, 2012 at 8:01 pm

    I love the Yellow and White Chevron Zig Zag Table Runner!

    Reply
  8. ilonaskitchen says

    September 11, 2012 at 9:22 pm

    Love the chevron!

    Reply
  9. Ellen Hotchkiss says

    September 11, 2012 at 11:32 pm

    Those are so fun! I'd love one for my dining room table!

    Reply
  10. Kyndal says

    September 12, 2012 at 4:02 am

    Love the multi-color chevron zigzag!

    Reply
  11. Lauren @ mercy(INK) says

    September 14, 2012 at 1:56 pm

    The table looks lovely!!! I love a simply set table with big impact! So very glad to have you gals linked up at our weekly link party… THANKS for inspiring us! 🙂

    Lauren
    http://www.mercyinkblog.com

    Reply
  12. Grace says

    September 16, 2012 at 3:11 am

    I love how the table is decorated and i LOVE the yellow chevron runner!

    Reply
  13. Vanessa Coker says

    September 16, 2012 at 3:41 am

    They are all very pretty. I like the Premier Prints Holiday Red & White DAMASK a whole lot.

    Reply
  14. bars Singapore says

    April 3, 2013 at 7:16 am

    It is rather interesting for me to read this article. Thanks for it. I like such themes and anything connected to this matter. I definitely want to read more

    Reply

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