Taco Pasta

This was an easy and versatile recipe that I recently came across on lynnskitchenadventures.com. Everyone seemed to like this. It's actually a "casserole" but I made it into a skillet meal to save some time. The original recipe says that you can use 16 oz of pasta and then add a can of rotel so it's not dry. That's what I did and I still thought it was a little dry. I added a little salsa and that seemed to help. I did not add the green chiles just because I thought the rotel added enough spice and the kids were going to be eating this. If not using the rotel, I would definitely add the chiles. Using 16 oz of pasta made a lot. If you don't want a lot of left overs, I would only use 8 oz of pasta.

Taco Pasta:

1 pound ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 package (8 oz) shell macaroni, cooked and drained
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chiles
shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet, brown ground beef over medium high heat. Drain and add taco seasoning, tomato sauce, and green chiles. Stir in cooked macaroni. At this point, you could either sprinkle some cheese on top and let melt and serve. Or, place in a 9x13 inch baking dish, top with cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through.