Is it just me or does dinner feel even more comforting and heartwarming when it’s served as one full meal in a huge baking dish?! I love that type of food where you just cozy up in your softest pajamas and grab yourself a big spoonful of the most delicious casserole into a glass bowl. Then, you head on over to your favorite chair with a nice glass of red wine. What a way to enjoy an evening, huh? That honestly sounds like the perfect thing to do today while we wait for this March snow storm to pass. I don’t know who invited her here, but I’m definitely not feeling it! LOL. Meals like this are always really popular with the family regardless of what day it is, or what you’re doing as the rest of the night rolls in. You can serve pasta bakes like this for dinner parties and you can also cover them with plastic wrap or foil and bring them to potlucks. Lasagna, casseroles, and pot pies all make me feel the same exact way this recipe does, except my creamy Tex-Mex pasta has a certain flare to it that makes you feel even more comforted with every single bite that you take.

Everything cooks in one pan besides the pasta, so while you have the pasta of your choice boiling, let’s fry up some veggies.

• In a large frying pan begin to caramelize an orange and yellow bell pepper, green onions, two heads of garlic, and a whole de-seeded tomato in three tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Saute for ten minutes before adding in the ground beef.

Chop up one package of ground beef in that same pan with the vegetables.

Cook until the beef is browned and then you’re ready to start making the creamy sauce for your Tex-Mex pasta bake!

• Throw in a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
• 8 dashes of your favorite Mexican hot sauce. The hotter the better.
• Two tablespoons of tomato paste.
• One cup of water.
• One 8 oz. can of tomato sauce.
• Half a block of cream cheese.
• 1/8 cup of sour cream.
• One can of cream of mushroom soup.
• Two tablespoons of chili powder.
• 1/2 tablespoon of cumin.
• Two tablespoons of paprika.
• A small pinch of cayenne pepper.
• Two teaspoons of oregano.
• Season with seasoned salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and onion powder to taste.
• You can also throw in some fresh cilantro if you love it like I do but if not, you can use parsley.

Mix all of those wonderful ingredients together!

Lastly, add in your al dente pasta, of course! Then finish with your final two ingredients right at the end:

• A small can of sliced black olives. I love using black olives in any of my Mexican, Southwest, or Tex-Mex recipes.
• 3/4 block of freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Save the rest of the block for sprinkling the top with before popping it into the oven!

Pour your creamy pasta dish inside of a large baking dish or casserole dish. Top with the remaining sharp cheddar cheese. Garnish with the herbs of your choice.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes depending on how golden brown you’d like the top to be.

This Creamy Tex-Mex Pasta Bake couldn’t get better if it tried! It is spicy, super savory, meaty, creamy, and of course, cheesy! Shredding your own cheese to use in a recipe truly makes all the difference. It melts miraculously and tastes insanely fresh! Nothing gets better then piling loads of this into your favorite bowl and garnishing with chili peppers, sour cream, fresh lime juice, and maybe some perfectly ripe avocado. Of course just digging right in with a huge wooden spoon can be your jam as well!

Happy Friday Diamonds! Don’t forget to look forward to all of the Easter and Spring recipes I have coming your way.

xoxo