Mexican Pasta

Woohoo, back to work!! We started at our permanent gate today. It feels really good. In the last two months we have only worked one little ten day temporary job. Now this is expected to be home for at least the next two years, possibly four. So we are settling in for the long haul and making ourselves comfy. Time to celebrate with a yummy dinner! I was wanting to make Mexican Stuffed Shells like these over at The Girl Who Ate Everything. The glorified convenience store that serves for a grocery store in these parts changed my plans - they do not carry jumbo shells or any other pasta, like manicotti, that you can stuff. So no stuffed shells. It probably comes closer to her Taco Pasta, Although I didn't go look at that recipe until I already had this one planned out, it came out pretty similar.

I used hot salsa and sriracha chili sauce, so it was pretty spicy. Served with Chipotle Corn Salsa this dinner was a HIT!

1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 Tbsp dried minced onion
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and red pepper to taste
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp cream cheese
2 cups pasta, uncooked
3/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup chili sauce
1 cup shredded cheese
sour cream

Brown ground beef, drain off grease if necessary. Stir in onion, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, red pepper and water; simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add cream cheese and continue simmering until cream cheese is melted. Set aside. Meanwhile cook pasta according to directions on package. Any small pasta will do. I used Wacky Mac Veggie Shapes because it appealed to the kid in me.

It has four different shapes of pasta and each shape is a different color.

Mix together taco meat, pasta and salsa. Pour into small casserole dish. Top with chili sauce. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Remove foil, top with cheese and continue baking, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Serve with sour cream and enjoy!