Crowd-Pleasing Texas Spaghetti

A Mexican Spaghetti or Fettucine Dish With Chili-Like Zest

Oct 5, 2009 Linda Gentile

This easily-modified recipe makes chili and pasta for a crowd. This tasty spaghetti recipe brings together staples of Italian and Mexican cuisine. Serves 8-10.

This recipe is a modified version of a dish called Mexican spaghetti; some versions are finished in the oven (especially if topped with cheese), some are baked so that the spaghetti cooks in the tomato juices and some feature green or black olives.Texas or Mexican spaghetti lends itself well to experimentation, and it an easy way to feed crowds.

Ingredients:

1 12 oz package spaghetti or fettucine
1.5 lb ground beef or turkey
2 16 oz cans crushed tomatoes or tomato chunks
1 16 oz can mixed jalapeno peppers and tomato
1 16 oz can kidney beans
8 medium mushrooms
1 large green or yellow bell pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
Minimum 4 cloves garlic
Minimum 1 tablespoon chili powder
Minimum 1 tablespoon paprika
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:

Prepare and chop mushrooms, pepper and bell pepper.
Over a medium heat, brown the ground meat. If using lean meat, add a little oil to prevent sticking.
Drain excess fat, leaving some for frying vegetables.
When all pink is gone from meat, add onions to meat and fry until translucent.
Add peppers and fry until they start to soften.
Add tomatoes, garlic, spices and tomato-jalapeno mix. Add a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, put on a large pot of salted water to boil.
Drain can of kidney beans and add beans to sauce.
Taste tomato sauce. If the flavor is too mild, add extra chili powder, salt, garlic and paprika.
Once water is boiling, add spaghetti and cook according to package instructions. Aim for slightly soft, limp pasta (2-3 minutes past al dente).
Add mushrooms to sauce.
If liquid is not reducing rapidly from sauce, increase heat to medium to allow it to boil off.
Taste and adjust flavors one final time.
To serve, set out large ceramic pasta bowl or roasting pan.
Drain pasta well and spread in base of bowl or pan.
Add cheese directly to the pasta and wait a moment until it melts. Stir pasta until all noodles are coated in cheese.
Using a slotted serving spoon, scoop the meat mixture on top of the pasta, letting excess tomato liquid stay in the skillet.
If desired, top with fresh shredded parmesan cheese. Excellent accompaniments to this recipe include fresh French bread, garlic bread and salad, or it can be enjoyed alone.

Notes About Texas Spaghetti

Excess food can be frozen for the future. Roughly two ladles of the pasta-sauce mix is one serving.

For extra fire, add fresh chili peppers. Fresh tomatoes may also be substituted for canned. While any color bell pepper can be used, yellow or green bell peppers add pleasing contrast to the dish. Also feel free to add extra cheese, if desired.

Spaghetti and fettucine work equally well. Fettucine is more substantial, but tends to stick together more.

The copyright of the article Crowd-Pleasing Texas Spaghetti in Recipes is owned by Linda Gentile. Permission to republish Crowd-Pleasing Texas Spaghetti in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Texas Spaghetti