Beef Fiesta Shells

This delicious Mexican-inspired stuffed pasta dish is ready to serve in about 30 minutes.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 pound 95% lean ground beef
1 small white onion, chopped
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 (12-ounce) jar picante sauce (mild or medium)
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (3-ounce) can French fried onion rings - divided use
18 large pasta shells (large enough to stuff)

Cooking Directions:

1. Cook pasta shells according to directions.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
3. In a bowl, combine tomato sauce, picante sauce and one cup of water. Set aside.
4. Brown meat with onions, salt and pepper. Add green chilies, 1/2-cup of cheese, half a can of onion rings and 1/2 cup of prepared sauce.
5. Stuff shells with meat mixture. Pour remaining sauce over shells. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
6. Sprinkle remaining onion rings and cheese over the top.
7. Bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

Serves 6 (3 shell) servings.

Tip: This recipe can be converted to a casserole by omitting the large pasta shells and replacing with a 12-ounce bag of medium-small pasta shells. Instead of stuffing shells, mix meat mixture with cooked small shells. Follow the rest of the original recipe.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/6 of recipe using 95% lean ground beef): Calories 341, Total Fat 10.6g, Saturated Fat 5g, Cholesterol 64 mg, Protein 27g, Carbohydrate 34g, Iron 4mg, Zinc 4mg, Sodium 926mg, Potassium 417mg, Calcium 154mg, Vitamin C 54mg, Vitamin A 131RE, Vitamin B12 2ug.

Recipe and photograph courtesy of The Beef Checkoff.