RECIPE: Cream Cheese Rigatoni

This pasta dish is not very saucy, but has a good taco flavor with a some creaminess from the cream cheese and a top layer of cheddar. Jerry and my kids are obsessed with this dish! They request it all the time.

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Cream Cheese Rigatoni

Ingredients:

16 oz dry rigatoni (or penne or other pasta)
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 cup water
4 oz cream cheese
6 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Cook pasta according to package directions. Brown the ground turkey with onion in olive oil, then drain the fat. Add 1 cup of water and taco seasoning to the turkey, and stir well. Simmer 5 minutes. Add cream cheese and stir until melted.

Remove from heat. Put pasta in a casserole dish, and gently toss together one cup of the cheese, the cooked pasta, and the turkey mixture. Top with remaining cheese and bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is just melted. Serve.

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Notes:

This tastes best, and has the best texture, when you put it in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese. You don't want the cheese to form a crust or get brown at all. It should still be very melty.

I've tripled this recipe to make for a crowd, and it worked really well. It's an easy, cheap recipe, and people love it!