Mexican Pasta Skillet

I got this recipe in the mail from the Eat Better America Calendar.  Here's the link to the original recipe: http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/Recipes/healthified/healthified-mexican-pasta-skillet.aspx (their photo is also much better than mine!)  The picture above is what the recipe looks like w/out the cheese or my additional toppings...

Doesn't this look better??  Cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and eventually crushed tortilla chips...mmmmm

Brian gave this 4 stars, I gave it 3 1/2 because I could taste too much of the meat and thought it needed quite a bit of crushed up tortilla chips to give it texture.  I "healthified" it even more by cutting down the amount of meat in the recipe.  This made 5 really nice size servings.  (Enough for us to eat dinner and Brian to have left overs for 3 days!)  Below is the recipe that I made:

1/2 lb extra-lean ground beef or turkey

1 jar mild picante sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
2 - 2 1/2 cups water (original recipes called for 1 1/2, I didn't think it was nearly enough!)
2 cups uncooked regular or multigrain elbow macaroni (I used ronzoni, for added fiber!)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup shredded fat-fat Cheddar cheese (I used FF mozzarella since that was all I had)


1. In a skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain.
2. Stir in picante sauce, tomato sauce and 1 1/2 c water. Heat to boiling. Stir in macaroni and corn. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until macaroni is tender. (As it continued to cook, I added more hot water as needed)
3. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

The original recipe is 7 points and serves 6.  My recipe (w/out added toppings) is 5.5 points and serves 5.