Taco Pasta Casserole

Ingredients
1 pound penne pasta
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
2 cups bell pepper strips (From 1-2 bell peppers.)
2 cups salsa (I used medium salsa fresca from my grocery store’s deli case.)
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups Mexican cheese blend, shredded
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Cook pasta 1 minute less than instructed by packaging, drain. 

3. Heat oil over medium heat in Dutch oven.  Add onions and sauté until softened.  Add ground beef and cook, stirring, until browned and cooked through.  Add taco seasoning, tomatoes, and bell pepper strips.  Saute until vegetables soften.  Add salsa and salt and pepper to taste.  Add pasta and 2 cups cheese to Dutch oven and toss to mix. Top with remaining 2 cups cheese.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese melts and starts to brown. 

4. Before serving, garnish with cilantro.  Serve with guacamole, sour cream, and extra salsa if desired.  (We thought it was great without anything extra.)

Comments
This recipe is from What’s Cookin, Chicago? I modified it a bit and doubled it as well.  I have this intense dislike for using partial containers of things, so I tend to tweak amounts in recipes so that they’ll use entire containers of ingredients. 

This casserole was delicious, tasty, and we all gobbled it up.  It’s also a casserole that would be very simple to vegetarianize by switching the ground beef out for some canned and drained black beans.  This was a great casserole and I can easily see it entering to our “regular rotation” or recipes.  You know, if we had a regular rotation of recipes….

Internet - What’s Cookin, Chicago?