If you’re anything like me you’ve searched endlessly through Pinterest for new recipes, hopefully ones that will be a hit with your children as well. Many times these so called “easy” or “delicious” recipes don’t turn out to be so. In my attempt to find new things for my family I have embarked on a journey to help other mothers determine what is really easy and delicious.
My kids like two things consistently…pasta and Mexican. I have a hard time finding good pasta dishes due to the fact that I am EXTREMELY picky when it comes to Italian food. I am Italian and grew up having everything homemade with the exception of pasta. American-Italian food was forever ruined for me! I can only eat my family’s sugo (sauce) and meatballs. Anyways, the point is I have little faith in pasta dishes I find online.
I came across this dish from Mother Tyme. We typically have tacos every Tuesday so I knew the Mexican part would be something my kids would love. Let me tell you…this dish was super easy, cheap and yummy! I’ve made a few changes to the original recipe; mainly because the proportions of liquid to pasta are not accurate. The meal started to burn so I had to tweak it. Let’s get real ladies no store sells 8oz of Rotini, nor do I have a scale or time to weigh it out. I believe in the skill of eyeballing measurements!
I was able to make this dish in a matter of minutes while my boys played outside. Sister (this is what we call her) was my sous chef and a great one at that. I mean who can go wrong when their sidekick is this cute!
The overall consensus of the meal is as follows: (on a scale of 1-10; 1 being bad 10 being great)
Ease: 9
Taste: 7
Price: $ ($5 and under a person)
My husband said he’d definitely have it again. Next time I will experiment with adding lettuce and jalapenos as well.
I hope you enjoy this meal as much as we did!
Taco Pasta
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- 3-4 Tbs of homemade taco seasoning or 1 packet of taco seasoning mix
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/4 cup jarred mild salsa
- 8 ounces uncooked rotini pasta (half a box)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese
- Optional- diced spinach to cook with meat
- Toppings- chopped tomatoes, avocados, sour cream, lettuce, and green onions
- Preheat a large deep skillet over medium heat.
- Add ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook thoroughly.
- If you are adding spinach do so when the meat is cooked halfway through.
- Drain grease.
- Stir taco seasoning into ground beef then stir in water, salsa and pasta noodles.
- Bring mixture to a boil.
- Stir, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.
- Cook for about 15 minutes until pasta is tender. Stir every few minutes to prevent the bottom from burning. Add more water if needed.
- Turn off heat and stir in cheese.
- Season with additional salt and pepper if needed and add toppings
Enjoy,
Jackie
