Allison's Recipe Book

Taco Pasta

Ingredients for Taco Pasta

1 pound ground beef
8-12 ounces medium pasta shells (I used whole wheat—yum!)
1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained (I used Ro-tel mild)
1 packet (4 tablespoons) taco seasoning
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
Salt and pepper

Directions for Taco Pasta

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the ground meat and onions over medium-high heat. Add in the diced tomatoes, garlic and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes.

TIP: I used the entire taco seasoning packet, and I don’t know that I will next time. It was a bit overpowering, especially with using Ro-Tel. Consider cutting back on the seasoning packet.

Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and remaining pasta water. Continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Simmer for a few minutes over medium heat to reduce the sauce, if needed.

Toss in the cilantro right before serving for some fresh color and flavor, if desired.

Ingredients
1 lb. of Ground Beef
1 can of Spaghetti Sauce
8 oz of Cream Cheese
1/4 cup of Sour Cream
1/2 lb. of Cottage Cheese
Whole Stick of Butter
8 oz. of Noodles
Bag of Sharp Chedder Cheese

Go ahead and put your over on 350. Boil those noodles. While they are boiling go ahead and mix up the cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese. Make sure that it is mixed up very well. Then go ahead and cook that meat. Make sure its good and brown and drain it. Then pour your spaghetti sauce over it. Take a few slices of your butter and put them in the bottom of your casserole dish, then layer half of the noodles in the bottom of the dish. Pour that nicely mixed up creamy mixture on top of the noodles and spread it all over. Then add the rest of your noodles and put a few slices of butter on top of those noodles. Now pour the red sauce and meat on top. and once again spread. Now place that awesome casserole in your oven for 30 minutes. After those 30 minutes take the dish out and pour some chedder cheese on the top and put it back in the oven for 15 minutes.

2 cups elbow pasta
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 roasted red pepper
1/2 Kielbasa sausage
1 cup Ragu
1 teaspoon garlic salt

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook pasta until done, about 8 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet, add the garlic and butter and saute for a 2 minutes, on medium heat. Cut up the roasted red pepper into bite sized pieces and add to the skillet. Add the sausage, stir, and let it saute until the pasta is done cooking.

Drain off the extra liquid, and put the sausage mixture into the drained pasta. Add the Ragu and garlic salt. Stir to combine thoroughly.