Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Creamy Taco Mac

When I think of things that are "trendy," I used to think of skinny jeans, Uggs, and the "Rachel" haircut. I never would have thought of food as trendy.

Yet there are certain recipes that are floating around my cooking forum and blog community, and they are popular enough to be considered trendy. I am certainly not minimizing their presence, and I have absolutely cooked my share of popular recipes (Avocado and Black Bean Brownies, Better-Than-Sex Cake, Penne alla Betsy...).

The latest culinary bandwagon that I've hopped aboard is Delish's Creamy Taco Mac. I've seen multiple blog posts with this recipe; some keep things the same and others put their own spin on it. I fall into the latter category, though her original sounds fantastic too.


The thing with most trends, however, is that they peak really quickly and then fizzle out, never to be heard from again. This pasta dish was so freaking fantastic, however, that I am pretty sure it won't be disappearing from my kitchen anytime soon.

I was wary about only using 1/2 pound of pasta but it was plenty; I even got two lunches out of the leftovers. I'm already planning on making it again soon.

Ingredients
  • 1.25 lbs ground turkey
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 8 oz dry pasta + 1 cup reserved pasta water
  • 1 16oz jar of salsa
  • 4 Tbsp mild taco seasoning
  • 3 oz cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese, plus more for garnish

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta per directions. Reserve one cup of pasta water.

Over medium heat, brown ground turkey until no longer pink. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Add taco seasoning and salsa. Allow to simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta, reserved water, cream cheese, sour cream, and shredded cheese. Give it a good stir until cheeses are melty and incorporated. Simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, as desired. Top off with cheddar cheese for extra cheesy goodness.

7 comments:

  1. This is really similar to a recipe I've been making for a long time, but for mine, you don't need to cook the pasta separately--it cooks in the salsa and stuff. LMK if you want it!

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  2. glad to be of inspiration :-) i've seen a couple people make it with salsa rather than diced tomatoes... i'll have to give it a try!

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  3. This looks so yummy. I can't wait to try making it! I'm a long time reader of your fabulous blog, but first time follower as I've only just opened a blogger account and set up a blog (http://bakezilla1.blogspot.com/). I just hope mine is as great as yours! :)

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  4. This recipe was AWESOME! And so fast too. I topped it with some blackbean, tomato & avocado salad I threw together just to try to get some veggie-ish in as well. I was sad I missed out on the leftovers, my husband got them first. Will be making this again for sure

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  5. I totally made this 2 weeks ago after reading this and LOVED it! Was shocked how far 8oz of pasta went...although I used whole wheat which is a tad heartier. Also, I made it with fat free cheese, fat free cream cheese and fat free sour cream and it was still really good.

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  6. Hi, do you recall the serving size for this recipe? Thanks!

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  7. This looks ridiculous. I would probably eat the entire batch at one sitting. Can't wait to try this! Thanks for ALL of the fun recipes :)

    ~Bethany
    www.brkfstatbethanys.blogspot.com

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