100 Days of Pinterest: Days 24-26 - Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells Recipe

I know. I slacked this weekend. I just had to get my garden going. I did follow through each day and do at least one Pinterest challenge for the day. My husband even did one too. He re-purposed a skid into a wall-mount wine rack for our kitchen. He even stained it a reddish color, because I love red! Above is a pic of his little bit of awesomeness he created.

I didn't have enough wine to fill it up with, so I improvised with some pictures of my sons and some decorative glass. I am one of those women who LOVES glass. I have some in every single room in our home. If I find a unique piece at a garage sale or auction I buy it (as long as it's not pricey and is unique).

As for my Pinterest attempts this past weekend, I found some delicious winners. Here's what I tried.

Saturday:

 I made Easy Pepperoni Calzones.  These things were awesome. I didn't just make pepperoni ones either. I made a few ham, cheese, and green pepper ones too. They did not last long. I had a little extra dough as well, so I rolled up some pepperoni bread sticks. As you can see from the pic on the right, I also sprinkled them with a little parmesan for that added flavor. They were really good and super easy to make. I just flattened the dough into an oblong shape, laid pepperonis down the middle and then twisted it up. Of course, you'll need to pinch the dough together to keep it from coming apart. They're good and you could basically put any meat or cheese that you want into them.

Sunday:

Beef Teriyaki Sticks and Homemade Teriyaki Sauce were on the menu for Sunday. Since my husband has a cold and I didn't feel like firing the grill up without him, I decided to make the beef sticks inside and cook them under the broiler. It only took about three minutes under the broiler before they were ready. When they came out I brushed them with some of the Homemade Teriyaki Sauce and sprinkled a little Smoked Hickory Salt on them. My youngest son saw them and grabbed one right up. He loved them and expects me to make these again in the future. I paired the beef sticks with some of my favorite, Basmati rice. This was a good one, but I think next time I'll marinate the beef in the teriyaki sauce before I cook them.

Monday:

 Monday night's meal was by far my favorite one so far. I made the Taco-Stuffed Pasta Shells.  If you haven't figured it out yet, Mexican food is my favorite! I love it. I could eat it every single day. These shells were so simple to make. I started off by browning a pound of ground chicken. Like I said, I don't rely purely on beef. Plus, the ground chicken was on markdown. The cheaper the better and who likes to see a good chicken go to waste? Not me! After I combined the bean, chicken, and cheese mixture I diced up some cilantro and added it to the salsa. Cilantro is a magical Mexican food herb that is a must! It's great added to salsa.  I followed the rest of the recipe as it was and these suckers came out SO good. I whipped up a batch of rice with Red Gold tomato sauce, some fresh cilantro, and some ground cumin to pair along with it. What?! Rice again? Yep. I liked this one so much I added the recipe from Somewhat Simple's website below.

Taco-Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ingredients:

• 1 box of dried jumbo pasta shells, cooked according to package directions, rinsed and drained
• 1 pound ground beef, turkey, or chicken
• 1 package (1.25 ounces) Taco Seasoning Mix
• 1 cup of water
• 1 can (16-ounce) can refried beans
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese – divided
• 1 jar chunky salsa – divided
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• Sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spread 1/4 cup salsa over bottom of casserole dish.
   
2. Cook beef in large skillet until brown; drain.
   
3. Add seasoning mix and water; cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until thickened.
   
4. Add beans and 3/4 cup cheese; mix well.
   
5. Fill pasta shells with beef mixture; place on baking dish, filled side up.
   
6. Spoon remaining salsa over shells; top with remaining cheese.
7. Cover with foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with green onions and remaining cheese. Serve with sour cream.

I did not need to make the whole box for a family of four. Especially since I added a rice side dish. You'll have to figure out how many each person will eat and then make a few extra. If you have a large family, make the whole freakin' box, plus some. I ended up refrigerating about six leftover shells. Can't wait to see how they taste for lunch this week.

To end my post I want to welcome my new Ninja Ultima Blender to the family. I have been in search of a blender that can keep up with my family and I feel confident that the Ninja Ultima can do just that. Not only does this thing blend, it can also puree, grind meat, grate cheese, mix cake batter, and many other things. The Ninja will come in handy with my Pinterest challenges and I can't wait to put it to work. We broke it in today by making some mango, orange, and peach smoothies. This thing is amazing. It crushed the ice so perfectly. So, if you're looking for a kitchen item that can do more than just blend, you need to look into the Ninja Ultima Blender. I love this thing!

Find me on Pinterest: Woman in the Man Cave


Take care!

NB