Mexican Penne

"Easy, one dish meal. Got this off of the back of the pasta box and changed it a bit to fit our tastes. I seem to be on a Mexican kick lately."
 
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photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Redsie photo by Redsie
photo by Redsie photo by Redsie
Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
5
Serves:
4-6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Heat oven to 350°.
  • Brown ground beef in a skillet and drain.
  • Cook noodles.
  • Combine beef, pasta, salsa and beans in a large bowl.
  • Spread half of mixture in a 9x12-inch baking dish and sprinkle with half of the cheese.
  • Repeat layers, cover and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Questions & Replies

  1. I like the simplicity of this recipe. And I like the idea of slight adjustments to suit different tastes. It could be made into lasagna, or any number of different noodles could be used. You could omit the noodles and use Fritos. You could add some Monterey Jack cheese and top it with lettuce, tomatoes and avocado. So many possibilities.
     
  2. Do we cook the noodles?
     
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Reviews

  1. How can so few ingredients yield such a delicious meal? This is almost magical. A bit of time browning ground beef and boiling noodles, and just toss in the rest! Ole' Mexican flavored pasta! Not only is this a great tasting dish, but very a very eye-pleasing one as well; textural.... I just made this tonight, and as I speak (type?), my family is sitting in front of the television now, rubbing their full bellies! We will have this again soon, but next time I'll be sure to have a carton of sour cream ready. This dish nearly begs for a dollop of sour cream. Thanks Karen for a perfectly delicious dinner!
     
  2. What a great dish that's easy and has only a few simple ingredients. The quick prep time and great flavor make this a super dish for busy week nights. Like several other reviewers, I added a dollop of sour cream when serving. Yum!
     
  3. This was very simple & tasty! Didn't change anything, and served with sour cream and shredded lettuce on the side. Since there's only two of us, I had plenty to take for lunch the next day. Thanks, Karen!
     
  4. This is great! We had some left over and I think it tasted even better the next day! I added some pinto beans (about 1/2 a can) just because I like lots of beans and I also stirred in a small carton of plain yogurt as a substitute for the sour cream that other reviewers recommended! Thanks for a great recipe that I will make over and over!
     
  5. Excellent! Simple to make, few ingredients and tasted great! What more can you ask for? It's a keeper.
     
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Tweaks

  1. Wow this is great. I never thought pasta and salsa would work together, but it does. I used homemade extra spicy salsa, and the heat in the dish was magnificent. I didn't end up mixing the cheese in with the salsa though, and just sprinkled a small amount on top. I'm thinking I might skip the cheese altogether next time, because it didn't add much flavor to the dish. I also used whole wheat pasta, and ground chicken breast instead of ground beef. With the changes I made, I ended up cutting the amount of calories per serving in half. Healthy, spicy, and delicious - my favorite combo!
     
  2. Delicious and filling...although after reading other reviews I also added taco seasoning and 1/2 cup water to meat, chopped onion, extra garlic, small drained can of corn and substituted jar of salsa with Rotel tomatoes. I only had whole wheat rotini pasta on hand but didn't matter. Served with dollop of sour cream each serving and multigrain tostitos. Will definitely be making again!
     
  3. Yummy!! Made the recipe as written with the exception of adding some frozen corn and substituting a can of diced tomatoes for 1 jar of salsa as per some of the other reviews. I also added some cumin. We will definitely be having this again. It came together in under 20 minutes and had 5 ingredients. Love that! Thanks for a great supper.
     
  4. Very good. Okay -- really good. I made this using 1 can of chili beans instead of the black beans. I made one tray with the ground beef and one vegetarian-style. I even had some for breakfast!
     
  5. This dish is easy and has a great flavor, but I didn't care for the texture of the penne in it. That's the only reason I gave it 3 stars. Otherwise it's a great recipe. I think next time I'll try rice instead of the pasta. ***UPDATE-I upped my rating for this from 3 to 4 starts because I tried it again with mini penne pasta and like it much better. I think small shells would also be good.***
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I live in Pa (outside of Philadelphia) and cooking, baking, cross-stitching and reading are my hobbies. <br /> <br />I collect cookbooks and cookie stamps/cutters and have a pretty big collection of both. I am also a fan of all things Amish, so I have quite a collection of things picked up in Reading, Lancaster and surrounding areas here in Pennsylvania. <br /> <br />I have 4 kids, who are the loves of my life and cooking for them and my husband keeps me on my toes! ;) <br /> <br />We bought an ice cream parlor in March 04 and it's been quite an experience! <br /> <br />Note: I love getting feedback on my recipes; all I ask is that you actually *make* them before reviewing them. <br /> <br />Also, if you make changes or substitutions, I'd love to see your suggestions and/or comments, but I'd appreciate no rating at all if it's not made as posted. Too many recipe reviews state margarine subbed for butter (if I list butter, it's REAL butter), different spices, low-fat ingredients, whole wheat flour instead of white, etc. The recipes will not work/taste as intended, so it's really not fair to rate them as such. <br /> <br />I'd also really appreciate it if you refrain from rating a recipe if you overcook or overbake it or it you don't refrigerate or store as listed. <br /> <br />I, of course, will adhere to the above when rating recipes, too! <br /> <br />Thanks and have a great day! <br /> <br />My Rating System: <br /> <br />***** A delicious recipe that was thoroughly enjoyed. It has excellent, detailed directions and is perfect as is. If a dish is especially easy, and I'm on the fence, I will give it 5* for ease even if it's very good instead of great. Something I will definitely make again. <br /> <br />**** Excellent recipe but confusing directions that I will make again in my own less confusing way OR Very good recipe that I'll probably make again if I find the time! <br /> <br />*** Good/OK recipe but probably not something I would make again OR Very Good recipe that doesn't have clear, detailed directions. <br /> <br />** Recipe was edible but not really enjoyed and will not be made again. Work involved not a good trade-off for the end result. <br /> <br />* Not edible and probably an error in the recipe. I feel that I pick recipes with ingredients our family likes, so in my opinion, there's an error somewhere. If there's a chance I made the error, I won't rate the recipe. ;) <br /> <br /><img src=http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/lauralie41/swapbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /> <br /><a href=http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/?action=view&amp;current=cookieswapparticip.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/cookieswapparticip.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> <br /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/honey-pot-print-c10069558.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /> <br /> <br /><a href=http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/?action=view&amp;current=09holidayparticipationbanner.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/09holidayparticipationbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a></p>
 
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