I love this yummy twist on Shells and Cheese! This Beefy Shells and Cheese with Ranch meal is pure comfort food. Throw in some veggies for fun! With just the addition of Ranch dressing to the skillet, it took this simple recipe to the next level. It’s a delicious dinner any time of the year!
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Especially for us mothers, life is so nuts, isn’t it? When I sit back and think about everything that is expected of us on a daily basis, I reach for my paper bag to pant heavily into. By the time evening rolls around every day, after having crammed about 39 hours of stuff into a 12-hour period, I cannot believe I have to think about making dinner. I am once again in need of a quick and easy, healthy meal to prepare for my boys.
Sometimes it’s as easy as taking a standby recipe, turning it over in your hands a bit and seeing it in a new way. I have to be extra creative when it comes to getting vegetables down my boys’ throats because they are PICKY! I’m finding that if I surround veggies with total yumminess, they can’t resist.
So here’s what I did the other night. I grabbed my bottle of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing from the fridge (because I ALWAYS have a bottle on hand) and I added it to an old standby: beefy shells and cheese. And guess what? The ranch dressing pretty much sent it to the moon, so I was able to throw in peas without having spoonfuls of food hurled in my direction. It was LOVED and gone quickly.
The dressing added such a depth to this simple dish that it tasted like I had slaved over a sauce all day. One delicious little ingredient allowed me to add vegetables (gasp) to this meal and made me look like a genius. And trust me, I’m too tired to be a genius.
Your wheels are turning now, aren’t they? You’re thinking of becoming a sneaky genius yourself, aren’t you? 🙂
Beefy Shells and Cheese with Ranch
Ingredients
- 12 oz. box medium pasta shells
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 10 oz. bag frozen peas
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until no longer pink. Drain excess grease. Cook frozen peas according to package directions.
- Add cooked pasta and peas to the skillet, along with cheese and ranch dressing. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until cheese has melted and mixture is heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately!
Tweet link: https://twitter.com/shala_darkstone/status/669517291013414912
I love Hidden Valley seasoning in potato salad, especially with additions like broccoli and bacon!
maddiembrubaker {at} gmail [dot] com
https://twitter.com/yarbr012/status/669139194669871104
My daughter does not like vegetables so I make a roasted cauliflower dish topped with a creamy ranch sauce that she loves!
I would use it with my ground turkey meat to make an awesome meatloaf.
tweet–https://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/668969313760620545
I would try the Grilled Cumin Rubbed Ribeye recipe from the Hidden Valley web site.
mami2jcn at gmail dot com
I want to try the Hidden Valley Ranch crispy chicken recipe that sounds amazing.
heather [email protected]
https://twitter.com/ElenaIstomina/status/668928676084367361
I would use it to make potato gratin
I mix Hidden Valley Ranch dressing in raw hamburger meat and then make hamburger patties and grill them. I receive lots of compliments on the secret ingredient that makes the cooked hamburger to the next level.
tweet
https://twitter.com/Kellydpa/status/668868297878863872
I would like to to use Hidden Valley Ranch to make a veggie pasta salad for my family.
kellywcu8888ATgmailDOTcom
The URL to my tweet is: https://twitter.com/ScK50779060/status/668836816578060288
I would use it in chicken-pasta salad with chopped white and dark meat chicken, elbow macaroni, mayo, black olives, pimientos, finely chopped celery, finely chopped onion, and grated carrots. Colorful, healthy and delicious!
To dip wings, of course!
I am a Ranch loving Aussie. One of our family favourites is a pasta salad I make with cooked and cooled pasta, grated carrot and grated cheese. My littlest lady likes to take it school for lunch. I add cooked bacon when I take it on picnics or to parties.
I would use it instead of mayo on a turkey sandwich.
We make Chicken Bacon Ranch Hoagies…and always-always Hidden Valley Ranch. 6 kids and they don’t touch any other Ranch. Love it!
i would use it to season oven fries!!