Ingredients

• 12 ounces elbow shell pasta
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 ounce taco seasoning
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup cilantro chopped
• 1 1/2 cups queso Restless Chipotle homemade or store bought
• 1 cup Cheddar cheese grated
• green onions
• taco sauce

Instructions

Part one

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• Cook shells according to package instructions. Do Not Salt! Do not overcook – they’ll fall apart.
• Drain, rinse, and let cool.

Part two

• Brown ground beef in a heavy skillet.
• Sprinkle taco seasoning over the top.
• Stir in water and simmer until the water is absorbed.
• Stir in cilantro.

Part three

• Spray a 13×9 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray.

Part four

• Pour the queso over the shells, mixing well
• Pour into casserole dish.
• Sprinkle with the shredded cheese.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cheese is melty and the casserole is heated through.
• Drizzle with taco sauce, sprinkle with green onions and serve.

To bake after freezing

• Remove the casserole from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
• When ready to fix dinner just bake as directed.

Notes

Expert Tip: Don’t add salt! The taco seasoning is salty (I suggest getting a low sodium variety) and the queso is salty. If you salt the meat it will be WAY over salted.

• For easy stuffing use a cake decorating bag without an end in it. Fill it with the meat and squeeze it into the pasta.
• Sometimes I add RoTel tomatoes to the cooked ground beef along with the taco seasoning.
• Use 90/10 lean ground beef or leaner – it keeps the casserole from being greasy and the seasoning adds plenty of flavor.
• You can substitute ground turkey, ground pork, ground chicken, or ground venison for the beef in this recipe.
• Don’t overcook the pasta! It will fall apart when you try to stuff it.
• If you assemble this dish and freeze it be sure to thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
• Don’t use the packaged shredded cheese. Shred it yourself from a block – the packaged shredded cheese has cellulose on it to keep it from clumping and it won’t melt as nicely as block cheese.
• Want to make this even easier? Use the small shells and make it into taco mac & cheese.

Velveeta Queso Dip

Ingredients

• 16 ounces Velveeta cheese
• 10 ounces RoTel tomatoes or favorite canned diced tomatoes and chiles

Instructions

Microwave

• Cube the Velveeta and put it in a microwave safe bowl
• Open the can of Rotel and pour it in – no need to drain.
• Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
• Stir.
• Return to the microwave and cook 2 to 3 minutes more.
• Stir. If it’s not all the way melted microwave it for a few seconds more.
• Add to a slow cooker and keep on the warm setting.

Crock-Pot

• Cube the Velveeta.
• Spray the inside of the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
• Add the Velveeta to the slow cooker.
• Dump in the ROTEL.
• Cook on low for 2 to 3 hours, or until the cheese is melted.
• Stir.
• Keep on warm setting.

Notes

Expert Tip: If you can’t find Velveeta you can use 1 pound of regular or white American cheese instead.

• If you use a slow cooker for this Rotel queso cheese dip you’ll need about a 3 quart crock-pot.
• This recipe is easy to double.
• Depending on the type of Rotel you use this is a spicy dip. If you don’t like any chiles at all you can use plain, diced canned tomatoes.
• Yes, this Velveeta queso recipe is delicious with tortilla chips… but try dipping pretzels, warm flour tortillas, warm corn tortillas, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, and other fresh vegetables!