When life is busy we all need some easy meals like these Pasta Shell Tacos! Pasta tacos are a fun twist on traditional tacos. The pasta shells make the recipe more filling than regular tacos and this is an easy meal to make.
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Easy and Cheap Meal Idea
Tacos and noodles are two of the easiest, kid-friendly meals and this easy taco pasta shell casserole is an easy weeknight go-to meal! If you have kids that really like mac and cheese you can throw in a few extra shells with only a little or no meat and top with extra cheese for some mac and cheese!
When our family enjoys meals like this we like to teach our kids about basic nutrition and encourage them to think about where food comes from. We’re farmers that raise beef cows, so we use ground beef from our freezer that was grown on our farm. Meat is a good source of protein which helps build muscle. The pasta shells are made from wheat and our family grows wheat! Wheat is a good source of carbohydrates which give us energy. There are three types of cheese and sour cream that are all made from milk. We know several families that milk cows! We may not know the exact families that raised the wheat, milk and other ingredients in this recipe, but we know that we are supporting families like our own when we buy food at the grocery store!
Casserole With Leftovers For Lunch
We like casserole dishes that make enough food to use for lunches the following day. I recommend crushing up the chips and leaving them off of the portion that is saved for lunch. We also waited to add our other toppings like lettuce, tomato, onions and sour cream until we had reheated the taco shells.
I use a basic white casserole dish like this with handles for many casseroles. And I like how clean and simple it looks!
Here is another similar recipe that our family enjoys for Easy Taco Pie! We hope you enjoy Taco Tuesday!
Printable Recipe for Pasta Shell Tacos
Pasta Shell Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef browned
- 3 oz package cream cheese with chives cubed and softened
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 21 jumbo pasta shells cooked and drained
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup Monterey jack cheese
- 1 1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips
Toppings
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 green onions sliced
- 2 cups lettuce chopped
- 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes sliced
Instructions
- Cook beef in large skillet over medium-high heat until brown. Stir to separate meat and drain fat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add cream cheese, salt, and chili powder. Simmer 5 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Toss shells with butter. Fill with beef mixture. Arrange shells in buttered 13x9 inch pan. Pour taco sauce over each shell. Cover with foil. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Uncover pan. Top with cheddar and Monterey jack cheese and chops. Bake 15 minutes more or until bubbly.
- Top with remaining ingredients of your choice and enjoy!
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