Taco Pasta a spicy make ahead meal

This was a great pasta but either the teaspoon of red pepper flakes or the Herdez medium salsa was too spicy so I cooled it with extra sour cream.  Next time I will reduce the red pepper to 1/2 t. and if that doesn't solve it I will use a milder salsa.  Shown here with small shells but bigger might be better because the meat sauce will go inside the shells but flavor wise no difference.  Original recipe had large shells and came from sweetandsavorymeals.com/taco-pasta/

TACO PASTA

Drizzle oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 lb. lean ground beef

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. taco seasoning

1/2 t. dry oregano

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

1/4 t. coarse black pepper

1/4 t. Kosher salt

3/4 C. water

1 C. salsa

1 C. cheddar cheese, shredded

Garnish:

Sour cream

Cheddar cheese, shredded

Tortilla chips, crushed

Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.  

Meanwhile, chop onion and mince garlic.  Place a large skillet over medium high heat, add a drizzle of oil and onion.  Saute a few minutes.  Add ground meat and cook till onions are soft and meat is no longer pink.  Drain fat if you didn’t use lean beef.  Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds.  Add taco seasoning, oregano, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Stir.  Add water and cook till water is gone.  Add the cooked pasta, salsa and cheese.  Stir.  Serve immediately or place in a casserole and reheat when ready to eat, 350F for 20-30 minutes.