Lighter Taco Bake

I enjoy marinara sauce. The hubs does not. And so the fight begins. I try to honor his tastes most of the time but I have been craving Mexican lately and this recipe just looked so dang good. I thought the adjustments StephanieCooks made were perfect and followed them almost to the T. It resulted in a great meal that even won over the hubs, leaving me amazing leftover for lunch the next day.

Lighter Taco Bake
Source: StephanieCooks

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef (I used 1/2 pound to lighten it up)
1 packet taco seasoning (I used half since I halved the recipe)
15 oz. tomato sauce (I used around 8 oz. on the hub's behalf)
8 oz. seashell pasta (again, half)
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened in microwave (I used 4 ounces)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used reduced fat)
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used about 1/2 cup of 2%)

Directions
1. Brown ground beef, drain. Add taco seasoning and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. ( I simmered for about 7 since I had less tomato sauce)
2. In the meantime, cook pasta according to directions. Drain.
3. Mix softened cream cheese and sour cream in separate bowl.
4. Spray bottom of pan. Put pasta in bottom of pan.
5. Spread cream cheese mixture over pasta.
6. Spoon ground meat mixture over this.
7. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.
8. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving. (I may have over cooked a little initially, so I peeled off the cheese and remelted some cheese on top. Turned out perfectly)