One Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta

I have already expressed my love for casseroles.  Is there any doubt I would also love one pot dinners?  I do have a couple of these I make on a regular basis, but I thought I would try something new.  It was Tuesday, after all, and around here that means TACOS!!  So, I tried this recipe.  It did not disappoint.

Here is the original link:
Cheesy One Pot Taco Pasta

Seeing that I live in Canada, sometimes the conversions can throw me for a little loop.  For example, she said to use a one ounce packet of taco seasoning.  My packet was 35 grams, and the conversion should have been closer to 28 grams.  Whatever.  I threw the whole packet in there.  Also, I only used the 1 lb of ground beef the recipe called for.  I felt it could have had more beef in it, so next time I am upping that to 1.5 lbs of ground beef.  Below, is how I made it (or what I figure works best) - with my conversions.

Cheesy One Pot Taco Pasta

• 1.5 lbs lean ground beef
• 1/2 tspn salt
• 1 packet Old ElPaso taco seasoning (I used mild)
• 2.5 cups water
• 1 small jar mild salsa
• 4 cups uncooked rotini pasta
• 1.5 cups cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Cook ground beef and season with salt.  Drain grease.
2. Add taco seasoning, stirring until combined.
3. Add water, salsa, noodles, and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
4. Stir, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer.
5. Cook until pasta is tender.  This took me closer to 30 minutes.
6. Turn off heat, add cheese and stir until melted.

Here are the ingredients I used.  I really appreciated that this recipe had so few ingredients.  I love that!  Yes, I did use that whole jar of salsa.  The original recipe called for a cup.  I misread it and added a jar.  I would do it again next time too.  It seemed to need the moisture.  I also realize those noodles I used are smaller than actual rotini, but we liked it.

After my beef was cooked, and I added in the pasta, I felt like 2 cups of water wasn't enough.  It turned out I was right.  It could be because I essentially used more pasta because the 8 ounce conversion of rotini worked out to be 4 cups.  This pasta is smaller, so I knew 4 cups would probably equate to a bit more than the 8 ounces, but I would rather make too much than not enough.  I ended up adding more water to my mixture about halfway through cooking.  Don`t worry - all that moisture gets absorbed by the noodles!  It did take me longer to cook than I expected.  After 15 minutes, the noodles were still not fully cooked, so I just kept cooking until they were.

Here it is all done!  It`s kind of like a Hamburger Helper concoction.  See what I mean about the ground beef?  More was required.  Most likely due to my extra noodles.

I took a handful of whole wheat Tostitos and crunched them up on top of each serving.  It was really good.  I knew my kids wouldn't like guacamole, or anything too spicy and I knew I couldn't go wrong with tortillas.

This recipe got a thumbs up from both my boys and my husband.  The kids are the hard ones to please, but surprisingly, even the little one ate it with no complaints.  It especially helped that I served it with tortilla chips.  Pinner Approved!

What to search for on Pinterest: One Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta, or see link above

Pros: Few dishes, few ingredients, fast, tastes great

Cons: NONE

Would I make this again? YES

Million Dollar Casserole: Recipe Review

This is a recipe that I make when I am desperate to get the ENTIRE family to eat one meal.  You know, mainly so the little one isn't scavenging the fridge and pantry an hour after supper claiming he is starving because he wouldn't eat his supper.  I digress.  Initially, this was intended to be a freezer meal.  One of those recipes you can make huge batches up and freeze and have lovely dinners for the next 8 months without any effort.  I have never gotten that far.  I make it one night and maybe have a bit of leftovers the next day.

I have seen several variations of this recipe around Pinterest, including Million Dollar Spaghetti.  This recipe uses penne pasta.  One day, I had no penne left, so I used shells.  My youngest son started shrieking and thanking me because he LOVES the shells and thought I did it to be extra nice.  Fat chance.  Use whatever pasta you want - it will all taste good.

Here is the original recipe I used:
Million Dollar Casserole
As usual, I have tweaked it and come up with what works perfectly.  I use more beef for one.  One pound doesn't seem like near enough.  I upped it to two and that seems to work better.  I also don't use the butter.  I haven't from day one because I honestly didn't see the need.  There is enough fat with all the cream cheese and cheese that it just didn't seem necessary.  Anyway, my tweaked version is below.

Million Dollar Casserole

• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 640 ml jar of spaghetti/pasta sauce
• 1/4 cup cream cheese (works better if it is room temperature)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 5 cups of penne pasta
• 1/2 - 1 cup cheddar cheese

1. Cook ground beef and drain the fat.  While the beef is cooking, cook the pasta.  You may want to use more than the 5 cups, but that is what I used with shells. Drain the pasta.
2. Combine the cream cheese, sour cream and ricotta in a small bowl.
3. In a 9x13 glass pan, spread out half the pasta.
4. Top the pasta with your cream cheese mixture.  Spread it out as best you can, but don't worry about covering every little piece.
5. Top the cream cheese mixture with the rest of the pasta.
6. Top the pasta with the beef.
7. Top the beef with your jar of pasta sauce and spread evenly around.
8. Sprinkle the cheese on the top.  I like to have mine covered completely.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

When I say I like to have mine covered in cheese, that is all but the strip my 7 year old eats, because he doesn't like his topped with cheese.  See what I'm dealing with here?

There really aren't THAT many ingredients to this in addition to the beef and pasta.  The only one I don't typically have on hand is the ricotta.

It is fairly simple to throw together once your beef and pasta is cooked.

See how early it was when I started this? I love recipes like this.  You get all your "precooking" and clean up done, and all you have to do is throw it in the oven when the time comes.  Everything is done before the kids get home from school.

From there, you just assemble everything.  One thing I want to mention is that it is important to get a good "base" of pasta.  You want to have something for your cream cheese mixture to sit on.

There she is.  All thrown together, with one strip void of cheese.  

Viola! The final product ready to eat.  I guess I should have thought this through and cheesed up the whole thing.  Nah.  That's what my blog is about - real life.  Everything may not be picture perfect, but it's all true, and it's a real reviews for what works for my family.

Pinner Approved!

What to search for on Pinterest: Million Dollar Casserole (or see link above)

Pros: make it in advance, easy and cheesy, most ingredients are on hand

Cons: lots of dishes to wash (seriously, I HATE that)

Will I make this recipe again: You bet!

Recipe Review: Easy Peasy Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

It's true.  I'm all about the easy recipes.  There's also something to be said for those casserole type recipes that you can make in advance, have all the clean up done, and then just throw it in the oven when the time comes.  This recipe is everything.  My kids LOVE it.  I mean both of them.  Not just one.  Both love it at the same time. Do you know what a miracle that is?  Hence, this recipe is on a regular cycle around here.

Now, here is my tip to get your kids to love this recipe even more.  Serve it with whole wheat tortilla chips (or whatever kind you happen to eat).  They will eat it like a dip and love every bite.  You can also put this in a wrap if you are so inclined.

The original recipe has 883k pins on Pinterest! Here is the link to the original recipe:
Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

I will rewrite the way I make it below.  I have made this so much, there are a few things that I have learned.  For example, the recipe calls for only 2 chicken breasts.  I use 4.  We like chicken around here.  Also, it calls for 1 cup of sour cream and half cup of salsa.  I do even amounts, so about 3/4 cup of each.  I also don't use the Chilis, because, well, then my kids WOULD NOT eat it.  I also don't use cilantro because I hate it.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

• 4 chicken breasts cubed and cooked
• 4 cups of cooked brown rice
• 1 small can of corn
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup of sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup of salsa
• 1.5 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Mix everything together in a large bowl, and spread into a 9x13 casserole dish.  Bake for around 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until heated through.

So, yes, you have to cook the chicken first and you have to cook the rice first.  I never have that sitting waiting in my fridge, because if I did, HELLO? That's called leftovers and there wouldn't be a need for me to cook that night.  So, I wouldn't exactly say this is a QUICK recipe.  The beauty of it is, you can get it all done in advance.  This does make a fairly large batch, so we usually have at least a little for leftovers the next day.  Either the kids get to take it for lunch, or my husband does.  It depends on which I am happier with ;).

Here's the process in pictures:

Yes, that does say Peaches and Cream corn.  Slightly sweeter than regular corn.  I was all out of the other stuff, and no one around here seemed to notice, or if they did, they knew better than to complain.  This recipe is pretty forgiving.  In fact, once I was substituted the sour cream with Greek yogurt which is completely fine.  I guess I wasn't paying attention, because when I served it, I realized I used vanilla flavored Greek yogurt.  True story.  I`m not going to lie and say it was delicious.  It was weird, but oddly enough, everyone still ate it.

 

That's a lot of chicken now that I see this!  It's ok. We need the protein.

But, seriously, it doesn't get any easier than this.  No spices to fiddle with.  Just throw it all in a big bowl and stir until you think it looks good.

 

This is precooked.  Technically, you probably could eat it like this since the chicken and rice are already cooked.  I'm not sure that you would want to though.  I didn't get a picture of it after.  I kind of forgot, and by the time I put it on the table the kids were already digging in.  Not so attractive.

What to search for on Pinterest: Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake (or see link above)
Pros: delicious, make it in advance, ingredients most people have on hand, easy
Cons: there is some "pre-cooking" to be done
Would I make this recipe again? Yes! It's on a weekly rotation around here.