#freezerlovefriday taco pasta style!

It's #freezerlovefriday and I am here to bring you a yummy recipe that is perfect for freezing! 

After I had Luke, I had no energy to be in the kitchen. Let's get real, a newborn baby is a lot of work. When I finally worked up the courage to get back in there, I searched for easy, quick, and budget friendly recipes. Long gone were the days of whipping up Rachael Ray's latest "30 minute meal", for the record the quickest I ever cooked one of those was like 56 minutes! 

Along came mixandmatchmama.com, Shay Shull. Due to the demands of nursing a very hungry 3 month old, I had lots of time to watch TV. So, while I was innocently watching Sean's season of "The Bachelor", I stumbled upon his sister's blog. Love at first sight! I quickly made 10 of her bundt cakes, and thought I should give her dinner recipes a try. They were exactly what I was looking for! She even does meal planning Monday, where she literally gives you the shopping list for the recipes. Genius! Thank you, Shay, for being real and making super yummy recipes! 

Shay's Taco Pasta recipe has always been one of my favorites. I typically have everything I need in the house, and I have given this recipe away on many meal trains (the amazing act of making dinner for a family who recently had a major life change)! It is the perfect dinner to serve alongside a salad, and having many taco lovers in my house, it always pleases the audience!

I do change mine up, slightly, but for the most part I stick to the original. I love to take a recipe and make it my own, but this one is just too yummy to alter. The main difference is that I typically add a few more veggies to mine and instead of 2 cups of taco sauce, I use 1 cup sauce and 1 cup salsa! Other than that, I follow the recipe. 

Ingredients:

1 pound beef, chicken or turkey  - turkey is what I have pictured! 

1/2 package taco seasoning

3 ounces cream cheese

1 cup taco sauce

1 cup salsa

1 cup corn

1 cup chopped yellow squash and zucchini 

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese

4 cups cooked pasta

EVOO to cook your veggies 

Toppings

avocado 

sour cream 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Cook your pasta to al dente and set aside. 

Brown your meat in a large skillet. Add in your veggies, and let those cook for a few minutes. 

Reduce heat to low and add in the cream cheese and taco seasoning, continue to stir until well incorporated. 

Stir in the taco sauce and half of both of the cheeses.  Add hot pasta, mix well and let simmer for a few minutes. 

Pour into a greased 8x8 pan, top with remaining cheese and pop into the oven for 15 minutes. 

Let sit for 5 minutes and then top with garnishes and enjoy! 

**If you are freezing the meal, let the mixture cool completely in the 8x8, cover and put into freezer.  

Here is Luke enjoying his dinner. It is summer in Tucson, so I apologize for the lack of a shirt. My model was not being super cooperative this night, I thought about using my other model (Ryan), but he was shirtless too, so here is what I could get! 

This particular night we ate our serving and froze another serving. I plan on using the frozen meal within the next month, and will simply take it out the day before, pop it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes and dinner is served!

Happy freezing, 

Meredith