Taco stuffed shells

I saw it on Pinterest. Amanda emailed me and told me she made it and they loved it. Michelle emailed back and said they had made it the previous night too and loved it. Beatrice sent me a picture of it when she made it and said it was phenom. 

First off, I absolutely ADORE that my friends care enough to let me know when they have a delish meal so that I can try it myself. Secondly, if this many people rave about something, it's like state law that you have to try it.  So we did :)

1 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey to lighten it up a bit)
1 package low sodium taco seasoning
4 oz cream cheese (I used fat free)
12 large pasta shells (about half the box)
1 cup salsa (I used salsa verde that I had left from another recipe)
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup shredded cheese

Optional toppings:
fat free sour cream
crushed up tortilla chips
diced green onions
black olives
additional salsa
diced tomatoes

Brown your ground beef and add taco seasoning as you would if you were making tacos.  Add cream cheese and mix well. While burger is cooking, boil the pasta shells, and drain.

Pour salsa in the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish, and put your boiled shells on top. Fill the shells with your taco stuffing. Spoon taco sauce on filled shells and sprinkle shredded cheese on top of them.

Cover and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees (depending on if you cook immediately or if you heat up from the fridge like I do when I make meals ahead of time).  Sprinkle a little more cheese on and uncover, then cook for another 10-15 minutes. Serve with optional toppings and enjoy!

I just threw on some diced tomatoes and a "dollop of Daisy" (sour cream) and we were good to go...main man was soooo confused. Smells like Mexican, looks like Italian...."What actually is this stuff?" he asked as he headed back for seconds. On his way back with his second helping he stated "You know when you ask me if you should make things again? This one is a hell yes!"  So there you have it folks, from the mouth of the man in charge.