Taco pasta bake

The item Kim chose as her main dish at the beach was a Taco Pasta Bake. I'd never had one of these before, and I thought it was terrific.

TACO PASTA BAKE

• 12 ounces farfalle pasta (bow tie)
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• ½ onion, chopped
• ½ green pepper, chopped
• 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 8 ounce package shredded Mexican cheese (or Colby-Jack)
• optional : can black beans, drained and rinsed,
• optional: can whole kernel corn, drained

Cook pasta according to package directions, undercooking by one minute, drain. Cook beef in pan until browned, drain. Brown onion and green pepper in same pan. Mix all ingredients except cheese in 13 x 9 pan, top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  You want the cheese to be melted and the casserole to be bubbling.

Kim said, "I didn’t add the black beans or corn at the beach, because I had corn as a side dish and black beans in the Southwestern tossed salad. Usually, I always add black beans. They are yummy in this!"

Oh, are you interested in the Southwestern Tossed Salad she mentioned? You should be. It was fascinating. I cleaned my plate. Recipe coming later today.