Recipes That Rock | Mexican Stuffed Shells

We've made the switch from "Taco Tuesdays" to "Mexican Mondays" in our house because someone was getting tired of tacos each week (who gets tired of tacos???). I've been looking for various Mexican-inspired recipes to add some variety to our Monday night meals. These stuffed shells have been in my recipe binder for years now, but I haven't made them in a while. I'm so glad I decided to whip these up this week because I forgot how yummy they are! I admittedly forgot to buy salsa at the grocery store Monday morning, but luckily I had a can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies in our pantry, which was a great substitute!

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• 1 package taco seasoning (or one recipe homemade taco seasoning)
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 14-16 jumbo pasta shells
• 1.5 cup salsa
• 1 cup taco sauce
• shredded cheddar cheese
• shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
• Optional toppings: green onions, black olives, sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a non-stick pan, cook ground meat (I sometimes like to add some chopped green pepper and onion to the ground meat to add a little more flavor and veggies). Add taco seasoning and prepare according to package/recipe directions. Add cream cheese; cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool.
3. While ground meat is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions and drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board/baking sheet so they don't stick together.
4. Pour salsa on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in the dish open side up. Pour taco sauce over shells.
5. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and top each shell with shredded cheese. Bake uncovered an additional 10-15 minutes. Top with desired toppings.

I'm looking forward to these leftovers for lunch today!