South of the Border Stuffed Shells

Pasta is cheap and easy, but it tends to get a little boring. So instead of Italian stuffed shells, I made taco stuffed shells! This tasty dinner was easy and helped 'spice up' our weekly menu...

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese
• 14 large pasta shells
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup taco sauce
• 2 cups of cheese (I used mozzarella because that's what I had, you can use anything)

Directions:

• Brown the ground beef, add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. (I threw in some finely chopped onion and garlic too!)
• Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• While meat mixture is cooling, cook the pasta shells and drain. Set aside on a cutting board but keep them seperated or they will stick together.
• Pour salsa in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
• Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and cover the tops of the shells with taco sauce.
• Cover and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
• After 30 minutes, uncover, and sprinkle cheese on top. Cook for about 15 more minutes.
• You can garnish these shells with whatever you normally would use for tacos (sour cream, more salsa, etc)

Mmmm these were good! Word to the wise: I only had HOT salsa and HOT taco sauce. I love spicy, but I think I made my poor husband sweat a bit ;) I would suggest using hot for only one or the other.

Adapted from THIS recipe