Mexican Monday is back! And it’s back with a trusty favorite recipe. Stuffed shells. I know, stuffed shells are typically an Italian dish, but I much prefer this Mexican spin to the traditional spinach and ricotta.
I’ve been making these stuffed shells for a couple years now, and was not disapointed to find that previous photographs weren’t exactly blog worthy. I’ve done these with both ground beef and ground turkey. Honestly, the turkey just doesn’t yield that same mouth-watering, need-to-grab-another stuffed shell result. But if you’re trying to cut back on red meat this year you can absolutely substitute turkey or chicken for the beef.
The following recipe is for two casserole dishes worth of stuffed shells, which will feed 6-8 people.
Mexican Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:
- 2 lb ground beef
- 4 tbsp taco seasoning
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 box jumbo shells
- 1 jar (16 oz) salsa
- 1 jar (8 oz) taco sauce
- 2 1/2 C shredded Mexican cheese
- 3 scallions
Steps:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. You don’t want them to be too soft so you can stuff them. Using a slotted spoon remove shells from water and place on wax paper. (You run the risk of breaking shells by straining like you would normal pasta.)
- Brown ground beef. Drain fat. Mix with taco seasoning and 2 C water. Cook until water is reduced. Mix in cream cheese until melted. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Divide salsa between two casserole dishes.
- Spoon about 1 tbsp of meat mixture into each shell. Place in casserole dishes.
- Top shells with taco sauce.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with cheese and bake another 10 minutes.
- Garnish with scallions. Serve with sour cream, salsa, or any other toppings you’d like.
*This recipe is adapted from Maeghan at http://www.thewaytohisheartblog.com/mexican-stuffed-shells/*
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