Chili Spaghetti

I tried a recipe; Chili Spaghetti, that I’ve been intending to make for years. This recipe is a part of my 365 easy recipes event. This recipe came from Taste of Home’s 2000 Annual Recipe Cookbook. I have always loved their magazine and often purchase the cookbooks for the year. I’ve made many a dish form their publications.

My family liked this dish and it was big enough that we will have leftovers, which means, at my house anyway, the boys (ages 18 and 22) will eat it for lunch, snack or any ole time!

Chili Spaghetti

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion 2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups tomato juice

1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

6 ounces spaghetti, broken into 3-inch pieces

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a skillet over medium heat, cook beef, onion and garlic until meat is no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a greased 1-1/2-qt baking dish; stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover an bake at 350º for 65-70 minutes or until spaghetti is just tender. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

Here are my alterations: I don’t use onions, EVER! Actually, I do cook with onions occasionally. I put slices on top of my meatloaf along with green peppers, and in my spaghetti sauce, which is an old recipe that my mom used when I was growing up.

I didn’t have any kidney beans so I used black beans instead. I also didn’t really have time to bake the dish for an hour or longer so I cooked the spaghetti in boiling water until it was done to an el dente state, and I baked for about an hour. Other than that, I think I left the recipe in tact. I have mentioned before that I never follow a recipe verbatim, right? That’s just the way I roll!