Taco Skillet Pasta is anything you love about a burrito, all in one flavor-packed dish. Protein-rich lean ground meat cooks into a tasty delicious soup. Antioxidant-rich veggies fill the casserole and stud the dish with eye-pleasing color—and do n’t forget about all of the gut-friendly fiber you’ll get from those veggies and the whole-wheat pasta. Salsa, tomato paste and beef broth are smart additions to give a deep slow-cooked flavor that ca n’t be matched. Best it all off with a slimy, cheesy topping, and this is a winner-winner burrito dinner any day of the week. For expert advice on how to swell the soup and which pasta varieties work best. Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen: Make sure this dish works, tastes great, and is also good for you! These are the important lessons we learned while creating and testing this formula in our Test Kitchen. More money can be saved by marinating the macaroni in the soup. Without adding any additional cheese, the pasta’s carbohydrates thicken the soup, giving it a creamier flavor. When cooking one-pot meals with spaghetti, using a heavy-bottomed dish will help reduce the ingredients from blistering on the bottom. It’s simpler to chop up smaller sections of an avocado that is firmer. With whole-wheat fusilli pasta, you can replace whole-wheat hip noodles for pasta that is whole-wheat. For a weekend meal, lean ground meat is a great source of protein that is quick to prepare. After a successful strength-training session, protein is necessary to build and repair tissue, and iron and zinc may keep your immune system healthy. Look for a fat content of 10 % or less to be considered “lean” beef. Red bell peppers have a somewhat sweet flavor that can help with brain inflammation, and this recipe uses jalapenos, which have a substance called capsaicin, which gives peppers their spiciness. This combination may also benefit your center health. Corn is considered a complete rice and a fruit, depending on how it’s prepared. Either way, you get a great dose of gut-healthy fibers every time you eat it—fresh or frozen. Corn also contains two important polyphenols, lutein and zeaxanthin, which are really beneficial for healthy eyesight. Consuming tomatoes can improve your heart and defense health because they contain a potent antioxidant called lycopene, which may aid in preventing brain disease. Add a few more bottles of canned tomatoes to your closet because new tomatoes contain more lycopene than canned tomatoes do. Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless

Supply website