Stuffed Mexican Pasta Shells

My family loves mexican food.  They also love pasta, so when I came across a recipe that combined the two, I knew I had to add it to my to-do list !  I made it yesterday and it was a hit.  My package of meat was a little less than 1 pound so it only was enough to fill 15 shells.  Next time I will double the recipe.  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

You will need:
Jumbo pasta shells
1 lb hamburger meat
4 oz cream cheese
taco seasoning or make your own with whatever you have on hand
A chunky salsa
A red hot sauce
Cheese of your choice (I chose Mexican Queso Quesadilla for the melting aspect of it)
Garnishes for the top like green onions or black olives

Brown the meat and then season it.  Chop up the cream cheese and let it melt in to the meat mixture.  Cook the pasta shells while the meat is browning. 

Let the meat mixture cool down some before stuffing the shells.  I rinsed the shells under cold water to make them easier to work with.  The have a tendancy to stick together, so I separated them on a plate before starting the stuffing.

Pour enough chuncky salsa on the bottom of the dish to cover it.  I added some of the hot sauce too since I did not have enough salsa. 

Stuff the shells and cover with more hot sauce.  Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove foil, add the amount of cheese to the top of the shells that suits your fancy and return to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes.  Take out and garnish with your toppings.  We added some sliced avocado.

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