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!
I’d make Crunchy Baked Ranch Chicken with lots of veggies!
tweeted https://twitter.com/mommysweetiepie/status/671497253547184130
I would love to try this!
https://twitter.com/momknowsbest15/status/671198598906945536
The roasted cauliflower sounds yummy.
I tweeted: https://twitter.com/FireRunner2379/status/671075769980973056.
We’re a pizza family, I make it at least once a week. I would use Hidden Valley Ranch in place of red sauce, add some grilled chicken, garlic, bacon and mozzarella.
This sounds great! I would serve some as a dip for veggies. Dipping makes everything more fun for my kids to eat!
chambanachik(at)gmail(dot)com
I would use this in a chicken casserole dish that my kids like. It has bacon and veggies in it.
https://twitter.com/leighanne000/status/670374678310076416
Tweet-https://twitter.com/JewelWood/status/670324903774547968
I would use the Hidden Valley Ranch to make my Chicken Pasta salad and use it as the dressing to give so much flavor to my salad.
tweet-https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/670310154944966656
I would just use the ranch dressing as a dip for broccoli, carrot sticks, and celery, maybe even slices of french bread.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/mummytotwoboys1/status/670062638513192962
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I would add it to Panko breadcrumbs to make a delicious coating for chicken
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Tweeted
https://twitter.com/rubylorikeet/status/669642536403660801
I’ve been wanting to try to make a healthier baked version of the sweet/spicy boneless wings we get at a popular restaurant….and of course there must be ranch for dipping!
tweet-https://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/669602404606734336
I would use Hidden Valley Original Ranch to make Avocado Ranch Burrito Bowls.
tcarolinep at gmail dot com