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!
The holidays are right around the corner, people. Do you, too, get hives every time you think about how you are going to pay for gifts this year? Well I am here to help! One lucky commenter on this post will receive a $100 Visa gift card. Read on for details!
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 use ranch dressing seasoning to flavor a pan of chicken drumsticks. Just add a side of potatoes or veggies, and it’s an excellent meal!
westiemks5 at yahoo dot com
I like the Hidden Valley oyster crackers!
Need to try this recipe.
MCantu1019 at aol dot com
https://twitter.com/suburbsanity/status/676232628136202241
I think it would also go well with some brown rice and veggies in a casserole.
Would love to try it with their Mexican Tortilla Chicken Salad recipe on Pinterest!
https://twitter.com/Esham4life/status/676208813901500416
https://twitter.com/raggammuffin/status/675874278567473152
i would add it to chex mix
tweeted:
https://twitter.com/uTry_it/status/675588496472412160
amy [at] utry [dot] it
Can’t wait to try your recipe. I would add Hidden Valley® Original Ranch to my creamy spinach recipe to make it even better and skip the cream to make it healthy. 🙂
amy [at] utry [dot] it
I tweeted about your clever Ranch Beefy Shells and Cheese and the Hidden Valley giveaway:
https://mobile.twitter.com/NotherAnneOther/status/675367724953018368?p=p
Thanks!
[notheranneother {at} gmail {dot} com]
Hidden Valley has lots of great ideas on their website. One that caught my eye was adding Hidden Valley Ranch to melted cheese for a tasty fondue. Sounds great!
[notheranneother {at} gmail {dot} com]
tweet–https://twitter.com/WildOrchid985/status/674631282513584129
wildorchid985 AT gmail DOT com
I would sprinkle it on roasted potatoes before they go into the oven!
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 AT gmail DOT com
I would use the dressing to make a marinade for some chicken breasts.
I’d use it to make a healthy chicken and veggie dish.
I love it on homemade buffalo chicken sandwiches! Yum!
onefrugalgirl AT gmail DOT com
https://twitter.com/OneFrugalGirl/status/672253888364478465
onefrugalgirl AT gmail DOT com
https://twitter.com/HappyTina0115/status/671894314595799040