Dave stuck his head in our bedroom at 6:30 this morning, after he got home from a long night at the hospital.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“You asleep?”
“…Not anymore.”
“I have to tell you, that pasta was really, really good.”
This may not seem like a big deal, but in our house, with this particular dish, it was. I often like to run my ideas passed Dave to see what he thinks, especially if I think maybe I’m pushing the envelope a little too hard. I told him that combining two different kinds of cuisines seems to be fairly popular on Pinterest – what about doing a pasta with enchilada sauce?
Having never actually had enchilada sauce before, I asked Dave what it taste like, his reply was, “I don’t know. Red? Smoky?”
I just laughed, and asked how something could taste “red?”
But the more I thought about it, the more I understood what he meant. It’s kind of like the blue flavor of Popsicles- it’s hard to describe what it tastes like, but if you tell somebody that something taste like “blue,” I bet you they’re going to know EXACTLY what you mean.
I pitched my idea to couple other people again, to very mixed reactions. Couple people thought that it sounded amazing, and others thought that maybe it was just a little bit too out there. I figured I would forge on, and if it sucked, I would just throw it away.
So I made it, shot it, and packed up for Dave to take for his 2 AM dinner night shift. I thought that it looked and smelled amazing, so when he stuck his head into our bedroom to let me know that he was eating a healthy dish of crow for breakfast, I chalked it up to a major, major victory.
Enchilada Tortellini Pasta Bake
Servings: 0
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/3 cup taco seasoning or 1 packet
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 20 oz. package cheese tortellini
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 28 oz. can red enchilada sauce
- 2 1/2 cup mexican-blend shredded cheese
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the tortellini and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Add the ground beef to a large skillet preheated over medium high heat. Brown the ground beef and drain fat, if desired. Add taco seasoning and water to the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes over medium low heat, until most of the water has been absorbed.
- Add the tortellini, taco meat, drained beans, enchilada sauce, and 1 cup cheese to a large bowl. Toss together until evenly combined.
- Spray a 13 x 9 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the pasta into the pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until cheese is gooey and melted.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with green onions. Serve.
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Erin @ The Speckled Palate says
I love this combination of different cuisines, and I can imagine this would go over really, REALLY well in our house since we love Mexican food and Italian food, too. None of us works the nightshift, but my sister has worked the nightshift before. Packing her middle-of-the-night dinner has always been interesting and come with mixed results.
Jacqueline says
Thanks so much Erin! You’ll have to try and it and let me know how it goes over.