Taco Filled Pasta Shells

(sorry for the bad picture)

I told you that I would post this on Thursday...sorry, I lied.  So here it is!  We LOVED this recipe.  Every single one of us.  That rarely happens.  I did omit a few things for the boys to make it simple and they gobbled them up! 

Here is what you need:

Ingredients
•2 pounds ground beef

•2 envelopes taco seasoning

•1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed

•24 uncooked jumbo pasta shells

•1/4 cup butter, melted

•ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS (for each casserole):

•1 cup salsa

•1 cup taco sauce

•1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

•1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

•1-1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips

•1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

•3 green onions, chopped

This is what you do:

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add taco seasoning; prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese; cook and stir for 5-10 minutes or until melted. Transfer to a bowl; chill for 1 hour.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Gently toss with butter. Fill each shell with about 3 tablespoons of meat mixture.

Now, the recipe says you can stop at this point and freeze half of them up to 3 months...but I continued on with the additional ingredients.  Next time, I will definitely freeze half the batch for later.

When you are ready to bake them do the following: 

To prepare remaining shells, spoon salsa into a greased 9-in. square baking dish. Top with stuffed shells and 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 and onions.

Then, enjoy!  We sure did...not once, but twice! 

***Note:  For the boys, we baked their shells separately and just topped them with cheese. 

****Another Note:  I got this from a Taste of Home cookbook that I received for Christmas. It just so happens that the lady who made up this recipe is from Roanoke, IL!  Small world.