A big part of my meal planning is coming up with meals that keep my budget in check. I love to cook but that doesn't mean I need to spend a lot of money doing it. I've been trying really hard lately to thing of budget meals that are not only healthy, but also fill me up. While strolling through foodgawker.com, I found a recipe for Mexican stuffed shells that not only sounded amazing, but looked super easy to make. The ingredient list was small and required little money to buy - two things I look for now when cooking during the week. I made a few healthy swaps of course and now find myself making this meal at least twice a month.
- 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 4 ounces reduced fat cream cheese
- 1/2 box jumbo pasta shells (16-18 shells total)
- 16 ounce jar salsa
- 1 1/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
- Taco toppings: sour cream, green onions, black olives, diced tomatoes, etc.
Preheat oven to 350°. In a pan, brown the ground turkey and add taco seasoning. Once cooked through, remove from heat and mix in the cream cheese, allowing it to melt. Set aside and allow meat mixture to cool.
While the meat is cooling, cook pasta according to package directions. Once shells are done, drain and set shells on a cutting board to cool. While the shells are cooling, add salsa to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth.
In a medium bowl, mix 1/3 of the salsa with the meat/cream cheese mixture, and shredded cheddar cheese. Pour remaining salsa on the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish. Stuff each shell with 1-2 tbsp of the meat mixture and place in the dish (open side up). Cover dish with foil and bake 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove foil and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheddar cheese. Continue to bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with your favorite taco toppings.
Recipe adapted from: The Girl Who Ate Everything
No comments:
Post a Comment