I don’t know
about you but with the craziness of new spring soccer schedules
(three separate teams this year + one kid opting to wrestle instead
of soccer), trying to get a meal ready at the right time in between
running kids to practices and Cub Scouts and whatever else the
evening holds (not including just keeping the house together,
homework done, and piano practiced) is a little chaotic.
Enter the 30-minute
skillet meal. I have professed my love for one-pot/one-skillet
meals over the years. They are my lifesaver. Fast,
easy, and healthy, they often prove to be the perfect solution to
weeknight dinner craziness.
Today’s version —
a loaded skillet full of saucy, tender pasta shells and warm,
taco-style flavors — is fantastic. Sure, it may look like slop
on the plate, but in my family, at least, the ravenous kids (and
let’s be honest, me, too) don’t care a bit how it looks,
especially when the whole concoction is smothered in cheese, sour
cream, salsa and olives. Seconds, please.
I’ve made this a
couple of times and the last go-round, I made it in my only available
30-minute window around 4:45 knowing we wouldn’t be eating
until probably 6:30. After it was finished cooking, complete with a
healthy smattering of cheese, I covered the whole skillet in greased
foil, popped it in a warm oven (about 170 degrees) and we devoured it
a couple hours later.
Granted, the pasta
wasn’t quite as saucy as if we had eaten it right away but no
one was complaining, that’s for sure. And it meant we were able
to eat a hearty, delicious meal as a family. If only it was that
simple and smooth and stress-free every night! Hey, I’ll take
it when I can get it.
Skillet Taco Pasta Shells Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients
1 pound ground turkey or beef
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder or 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup salsa verde (green salsa or green enchilada sauce)
Sour cream, olives and salsa for serving (optional)
Directions
In a large, 12-inch nonstick
skillet over medium heat, cook the ground turkey or beef, salt,
pepper, onion (or onion powder), and garlic (or garlic powder),
stirring every once in a while to break the meat into small pieces.
Once the meat is cooked through, drain any excess grease and scrape
the meat mixture to a paper towel-lined plate.
To the skillet add the diced
tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa verde, pinto beans, chili powder,
oregano, pasta shells, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce and brown
sugar.
Bring the mixture to a gentle
simmer and cook, stirring often to make sure the pasta isn't
sticking, until the pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been
absorbed, 15-20 minutes.
Stir in the cooked ground meat and
top with the shredded cheese. Cover the skillet for 1-2 minutes to
let the cheese melt. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro. The pasta will
thicken as it rests.
Serve with sour cream, olives, and
salsa, if desired.
Recipe Source: sent to me by my cousin-in-law, Julianne, who made the recipe and
raved. I adapted it from the original
source here.
Melanie Gunnell is a food-loving, chocolate-obsessed mom who has a desperate need to share
her favorite tried-and-true recipes with the world. In a past life she graduated from Brigham
Young University with a degree in public health, but for the past ten years, stay-at-home
motherhood has been her job along with blogging-from-home for the past five.
She resides in the brilliantly cold tundra of Northern Minnesota with her husband and their brood
of five children: four boys and one tiny, bossy girl. Dark chocolate (particularly the act of
shoving chocolate chips in her mouth whilst hiding in the pantry) is her coping skill of choice for
both the never-ending winters and the never-ending wrestling matches in her front room.