Mexican Pasta Bake

• 1 box 1 Pound Box Of Shell Pasta
• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
• 1 whole Green Pepper, Stem And Seeds Removed, Then Chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic, Minced
• 2 cans 14.5 Oz Cans Of Diced Tomatoes With Green Chilies
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoons Paprika
• 2 dashes Cayanne
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 can (14.5 Oz. Size) Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed.
• 1 can 10.5 Oz Size, Mexicorn, Drained
• 4 cups Shredded Cheddar, Divided
• Hot Sauce, Sour Cream, Cilantro Leaves And Avocado Slices For Garmish

1. Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions.
2. Drain pasta but before you do, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
3. Set pasta and reserved cooking water aside.
4. Turn on oven to 350 F.
5. In a large pan, pan fry ground beef, onion, and green peppers over medium-high heat until beef is brown.
6. Drain the grease from the beef mixture.
7. Return pan to medium heat, and add garlic, diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayanne, salt, pepper, and pasta cooking water.
8. Mix well to combine and allow to simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly thicker.
9. You want the sauce to be fairly loose so the casserole does not dry out in the oven.
10. Add the drained black beans, Mexi-corn and pasta.
11. Stir well to completely combine, and allow to heat through.
12. At this point, you can either make two 9x13 casseroles and freeze one, or make one 11x17 casserole for a larger group of people.
13. If you are making the 9x13 pans, top the one you are about to bake with 2 cups of shredded cheese, and leave the other plain to be frozen.
14. If you are making the 11x17 pan, top with all 4 cups of shredded cheese.
15. Place pan in oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melty and golden brown.
16. Serve with your choice of garnishes.
17. Enjoy!

ground beef, onion, green pepper, garlic, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayanne, salt, black beans, mexicorn, cheddar, hot sauce

Taken from tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/mexican-pasta-bake-2/ (may not work)