Taco Stuffed Shells

When I found this recipe I was so excited to make this twist on the traditional shells!  When my husband saw it, he insisted that I make it this weekend :)  I made a double batch because we had friends over for dinner, but I will write it up as a single batch.  I adapted from this recipe on BlogChef.net.  I eliminated the cream cheese and added more veggies.  They came out great!

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
Taco seasoning (I make my own, as described HERE)
1 can diced tomatoes

1 chopped bell pepper

1/2 chopped onion

1 box large pasta shells

1 jar salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup reduced fat mexican cheese (shredded)

Cook the ground beef and drain off fat.

Add the chopped pepper & onion to one side of the pan to cook.  I offset the pan on the burner so the peppers & onions are getting most of the heat.

Mix the vegetables & beef together and add seasoning.  Add the diced tomatoes.

Allow the mixture to cool so it can be handled.

Cook shells according to package instructions.

Stuff the shells.  Top with taco sauce and cheese and bake at 350 deg F for approximately 30 minutes.

Serve with the mexican corn cake recipe provided above!  The sweet of the corncake works great with these spicy shells!

***Variation***
As I said in the beginning of the post, I made a double batch.  After preparing one batch, there was a little less than 1/2 of the beef mixture left.  I decided to make bean and beef shells for the second half, so I mixed in a can of refried beans to the remaining mixture.  They came out great also!