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Ranch Taco Pasta Bake ~ A dinner to satisfy BOTH of my children!
You know those nights- you are wiped out, you really don’t want to make dinner yet the thought of leaving for dinner is just too much. Your kids are arguing and of course- they each want something different for dinner. This describes more than a few of our weeknights and frankly- I sometimes regret asking them what they are in the mood for.
I kno0w why I do it- I want to make something that will make them happy, they will eat without complaint and will not go to waste. You would think after 15 years of parenting I would learn my lesson ????
So on this particular night one son wanted plain tacos with no ‘extra stuff’ and my other son wanted pasta. I just wanted dinner on the table- FAST!
I literally made this up as I went and what I came up with was one of the best things I have made in a long time. A few things: don’t add salt to this. Between the Ranch dressing mix and other add-in’s it is salty enough. Als0, I used Creamette rotini pasta for this. I really like the way it turned out and stayed firm throughout the baking process. When boiling be sure to cook until al dente- do not over boil (think mush).
Garnish with what you have or typically like on tacos. I grabbed some leaf lettuce from the garden, some leftover olives and sour cream. You really don’t need anything else!
Ingredients
- 2 lb lean ground meat or ground beef
- 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix
- 1 28 oz can of Red Gold tomato sauce
- 1 15 oz can of Red Gold petite diced tomatoes with lime and cilantro
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 TB cumin
- 1 tsp ground red pepper
- 1 lb of rotini pasta (cooked al dente)
- 2 C of taco blend cheese
- garnish: black olives, sour cream, lettuce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Brown meat in a large skillet, drain off fat.
- Add the Ranch packet along with 1/2 C water.
- Allow to cook on medium/low 2 minutes.
- Add spices, tomato sauce/diced tomatoes and stir to combine.
- Remove from heat and toss in cooked pasta.
- Add to a 13×9 baking dish and cover with cheese.
- Bake 20 minutes or until cheese is heated through.
- REmove from oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve with garnish.
Important Notes
A great pitch-in meal or for when you need to feed a crowd!
