Mexican Stuffed Shells

I tried this recipe last night that I had found on Pinterest and it is SO good. My hubby loves Mexican food and Italian food so this was a great combo. You could use mild, medium or hot salsa and sauce depending on your liking. This took a little over an hour including cooking the shells, stuffing and baking them. Mmmm, I'm about to go reheat some of the leftovers right now! YUM!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (I used Boca meatless crumbles)
1 package taco seasoning
4 oz. cream cheese
15-17 jumbo pasta shells
1.5 cups salsa
1 cup taco sauce (I used a bit more than this to make sure all were covered)
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup monterey jack cheese (I used a blend)
3 green onions chopped
Sour cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a frying pan cook ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. 
3. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool completely.  4. While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board/baking sheet/waxed paper so that they don’t stick together.
5. Pour salsa on bottom of 9×13 baking dish. 
6. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up.
7. Cover shells with taco sauce.  Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
8. After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed.  Top with any condiments you’d like (green onions, black olives, etc.) Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.

  

Adapted from "A Pinch of This & That" http://apinchofthisandthat.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/mexican-stuffed-shells/