Taco Pasta Bake

 I apologize for the lighting.  My kitchen light is not very photography-friendly...

Not long ago, I posted a recipe for Taco Pasta Shells.  It was good stuff. I really, really, really enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, we are taking a break from tomato products for now.

Which means that recipe is on hold. :(

And I had only made it once!

Sigh.

I do hope to make it again.

In the meantime though, I wanted something similar.  Minus the tomato sauce.

I was quite delighted to click on Pinterest not long ago and see this recipe.

Just what I wanted.

Very similar but NO tomato products.

Tonight, we gave it a try.

It probably didn't help that I was hungry before I even started cooking.

By the time it came out of the oven, I was salivating.  Maybe even drooling.

And it was exactly what I wanted.  Exactly.

Except I wanted to eat much more.

Dumb calories.

Anywho, we will be having this again.  Soon.

You know what it is like?  It like a Mexican twist on the family favorite Mostaccioli!

In fact, for today's recipe, I used ziti. But next time, I would like to try mostaccioli noodles instead...

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
 1 to 1.5 lbs ground beef, browned

1 envelope taco seasoning (we actually make a homemade taco seasoning mix these days)

1 cup water

ziti or other large noodles (I definitely want to try with mostaccioli)

1/2 block cream cheese

1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded cheese (I used Sargento's four cheese Mexican blend)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil pasta and drain.

Meanwhile, brown ground beef.  Drain if needed. 

Mix the seasoning and the water.  Pour over the ground beef.  Let it simmer around 5 minutes.

Mix the cream cheese into the ground beef.  Stir until melted and mixed.

In a casserole dish, pour the pasta.  Mix in about a cup of the shredded cheese.

Top with the ground beef mixture.

Then sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top.

Bake uncovered for around 30 minutes.

Very easy.  Very simple.

Enjoy!

Reba