Tasty Tuesday! Mexican stuffed shells.

I saw this recipe on pinterest a few weeks ago and knew that Steve would love it. Mexican stuffed shells! Anything with cheese, and he's a happy man.

I would have made it sooner, but discovered that jumbo pasta shells are not too common at grocery stores in DC! I looked at half a dozen, I think, and never saw them, until this past weekend. Oddly enough, I was at a store that I rarely go to, because I find it so disorganized, yet they had the jumbo shells I needed! So, win!

Here is the original recipe, found at a blog called The Way to His Heart. Cute name, eh?

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 package low-sodium taco seasoning (or better yet use this Taco Seasoning!)

4 oz. cream cheese

14-16 jumbo pasta shells

1.5 cup salsa

1 cup taco sauce (This is a smooth, tomato based sauce found in the Mexican section)

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup monterey jack cheese

3 green onions

Sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a frying pan cook ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool completely. While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board/baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

Pour salsa on bottom of 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Cover shells with taco sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed. Top with any condiments you’d like (green onions, black olives, etc.) Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.

My edits:

First, I used ground turkey instead of beef.

I used the entire block of cream cheese, so 8 oz, instead of half of it. It made it super creamy!

I forgot to buy the green onions.

The shells get slippery and are hard to fill. I used a ladle to help keep their shape while filling them!

You can see from my photo that I baked them in a round dish, I think it's nine inches. It's Boleslawiec, a Polish pottery that I collect. It has handles!

I also didn't pour the taco sauce over them before baking- I just used salsa in the dish, and placed the stuffed shells over the salsa. I baked them for about 20 min, then took the foil off, and sprinkled the cheese over them, baking for another five or eight minutes.

They were delicious, Steve was a big fan!

Hmmm, it doesn't look as pretty in the pictures, but I feel like most pasta/cheesey dishes don't photograph well! I guess I should work on my food photography skills, eh?

I posted this at Scarlet Threads blog today too.

What are you cooking this week? Do you have a recipe that you want to share with Scarlet Threads readers?

We love finding new recipes to post!

Also, speaking of Scarlet Threads, have you seen their new line of jewelry? It's a new partnership with a Ugandan organization that works with women and children, and we're so thrilled to be working with them. Keep an eye out, I think there may be a giveaway coming up ;)