Taco Stuffed Pasta shells

"I found this recipe in a magazine a couple of years ago and it is a favorite at our house. We love cream cheese so I usually add a bit more than what the recipe calls for. The original recipe says you can double it and freeze one pan for up to 90 days. I haven't tried that but if you do, let me know how it turns out."
 
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photo by Pam-I-Am photo by Pam-I-Am
photo by Pam-I-Am
photo by Hamlin photo by Hamlin
photo by ktenille photo by ktenille
photo by ShortyBond photo by ShortyBond
photo by ShortyBond photo by ShortyBond
Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
11
Serves:
5-6
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ingredients

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directions

  • COOK BEEF.
  • ADD TACO SEASONING AND PREPARE ACCORDING TO PKG DIRECTIONS.
  • ADD CREAM CHEESE.
  • COVER AND SIMMER UNTIL CREAM CHEESE IS MELTED.
  • YOU CAN CHILL THE MEAT SO YOU CAN STUFF THE SHELLS EASIER.
  • POUR SALSA IN THE BOTTOM OF A GREASED 9 X 13 IN PAN.
  • WHILE THE HAMBURGER IS COOKING, COOK THE PASTA, DRAIN, TOSS WITH BUTTER.
  • FILL EACH SHELL.
  • PLACE IN BOTTOM OF PAN AND TOP WITH TACO SAUCE.
  • COVER AND BAKE AT 350 FOR 30 MINUTES.
  • UNCOVER,SPRINKLE WITH CHEESES AND CHIPS.
  • BAKE 15 MINUTES LONGER OR UNTIL HEATED THROUGH.
  • SERVE WITH SOUR CREAM, MORE SALSA, OR WHATEVER ELSE YOU THINK GOES GOOD WITH TACOS.

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Reviews

  1. I recommend using cream cheese with chives and onions. It gives the stuffing alot more flavor. Great dish. everyone loved it.
     
  2. I think next time I make this kind of dish, I will cook the pasta less, as cooking them till they are done (following the box directions) made the shells very soft and mushy by the time they were done. Probably will look for another recipe to try next time too and see if there is one with more flavor. These were kind of bland with just the taco seasoning. Thank you for sharing with us though!
     
  3. This is really really good! I prepared 15 shells but ended up needing more so I boiled an additional 5 and that was just perfect (I didn't overstuff mine which may be why). I used all salsa because I forgot to buy taco sauce and that worked just fine. Served with sour cream. Yummy!
     
  4. Sorry, this was just okay for us. I think I would have enjoyed them more if I used cottage cheese instead of cream cheese. With the jarred sauces, packaged mix and the cream cheese it just tasted too artificial to me.
     
  5. I personally thought that this recipe was way too salty for my liking. It was easy to prepare and would probably try it again using a low salt alernative.
     
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Tweaks

  1. Loved it! Instead of the taco sauce/salsa I just used a canned enchilada sauce. Also left off the crushed chips and topped with black olives instead. I was only cooking for one so once I had the shells stuffed I actually froze half of them, so next time I want to make this it will be super easy to just put them in a dish, pour the enchilada sauce in and heat them. I made these with Tex-mex Rice http://www.food.com/recipe/tex-mex-rice-91598
     
  2. The only thing keeping this from 5 stars, in our opinion, is the fat content. We adjusted that with ground turkey instead of beef, black beans mixed with the meat, lower fat cheeses and much less of it and no chips. Also the only shells I find , which I often stuff pasta shells, are about 2 1/2 " long, so the recipe made a 3 quart casserole dish, I used way more salsa. I hoped for left-overs but no such luck! Served with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and the guacamole( good fat). We loved this as an alternative to our regular " Taco Tuesday" on a 0 degree New England night.
     
  3. This is a VERY kid friendly meal!! I use low fat cream cheese, and 2% Mexican shredded Kraft cheese on top to make it healthier. I also added half a can of fat free refried beans to the meat and cream cheese mixture, and it is fabulous. Lastly, I substituted black bean and corn salsa for the taco sauce, and it was delicious. Served with sour cream and guacamole!!
     
  4. Very tasty and filling! I had some shreds on the side and a dollup of sour cream. I used about 20 pasta shells and ground turkey instead of hamburger. Also added some sliced black olives. Hubby liked it as well!
     
  5. Loved this. I didn't have any taco sauce so I made the Taco Bell Taco Sauce recipe 60254 to go with it. I also used ground chicken thighs instead of hamburger. The taco sauce gave this a nice bite. This recipe is definitely going into my For Keeps cookbook.
     

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