Taco Stuffed Shells Recipe

This is an adaptation of a recipe from Young Chefs Academy that my old roommate brought home from work. Originally made with beef crumbles and cheese mixture (also good) black beans are an excellent cheap alternative and my personal preference. Taco Stuffed Shells have become a comfort food of mine, probably because they're warm, filling, spicy and have a wonderful contrast of creamy cheese filling to crunchy tortilla.

A good recipe for when you have guests over or when you're scrounging in the pantry, the fresh veggies can always be axed at no great loss to the dish. It is worthwhile to note that this is not at all healthy but it is very delicious. See for yourself.

Ingredients:

22 oz+ tomato sauce (I used all of two 15oz tomato sauce cans from Trader Joe's)
1 can black beans
1 package neufchatel or light cream cheese. Or full fat if you need a heart attack imminently. Set this out.
1 bell pepper, cut into chunks and lightly sauted with garlic
4+ cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
2/3 cup onions, sauted, if you like 'em. I don't, I add a bit of onion powder instead
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 - 2 tablespoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder. My house likes spicy food so I typically add more
1 1/4 tablespoon vinegar (up to 2 tablespoons if you like vinegar and it's acccompanying tang)
1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon of brown sugar or honey. Add more if you were too heavy on the vinegar or spicy things eariler
2 cups shredded cheese - cheddar & monterrey jack preshredded bags are great
sour cream, for garnish/dipping - optional
3-4 handfuls tortilla chips, broken - I use this as an opportunity to use up the bottom of the chip bags
1 box of jumbo shells pasta - you'll use between 20-25 shells - count 'em out and set aside. Make a few extra over this for breaks during cooking - broken ones are difficult to stuff.

prep

Do your veggie prep - slice/chunk the bell pepper and onions, chop the garlic or skin and half it for pressing. Set a large pot of water to boil for the pasta and proceed to cook pasta once boiling. Preheat the oven to 350 f. Set a 9x13 pan aside.

Pour tomato sauce in a sauce pan with the heat set on medium-low. Add vinegar, 3 cloves pressed garlic, olive oil, cumin, paprika, chipolte chili powder, cayenne powder and onion powder (or the real thing later). Stir sauce occasionally while doing the following:

Strain and rinse the black beans, set aside.Add a little olive oil in a pan and saute the onions and bell peppers with 1 clove crushed garlic.

If your veggies are done you can add them directly into the sauce. At this point I check on the sauce and see how it is doing in terms of flavor balance. I like it to be tangy and sweet, spicy and aromatic with garlic and cumin. If it's too spicy or acidic you can try adding more sugar or honey. If it needs more spicing try adding more chili powder, cumin, paprika or cayenne (if you want it hotter).

When the pasta is done strain and set aside tossed with a little olive oil or butter to discourage sticking.

Now combine the cream cheese or neufchatel and black beans in a pan on medium heat with a few dashes of paprika, cumin, a few extra shakes of chipotle powder and just a little cayenne. Stir until the cheese, beans and spices are well mixed. You can turn the heat off once the cheese is melted and stirable so it doesn't just get burned onto the pan.

Almost done now. Stir the sauce and pour 1/4 to 1/2 in the bottom of the 9x13 pan. Spread an even layer, not too thin. Grab a pasta shell and with a regular table spoon stuff it with the cheese-bean goo, it doesn't need to be heaping. Lay in the sauced up pan in rows. My 9x13 usually fits about 17-20 shells so having a small bread pan to fit the extra 5-7 is perfect. If you need to use two pans adjust how much sauce you pour into the bottom initially accordingly. Once all your shells are stuffed and filling is gone spoon/pour the remaining sauce over the shells evenly. Cover with foil and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Pull the pans out and sprinkle on the 2+ cups cheese followed by the crumbled tortilla chips. Pop 'em back in the oven for 5-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and it is hot throughout.

One serving seems to be 3 to 5 shells, so this recipe is great for 2-4 with leftovers, or can feed more when served with sides. Serve with extra tortilla chips, sour cream, hot sauce, salsa, guacamole, corn...yum!

Made listening to Cake, Afroman and some other great artists on grooveshark.