Tex Mex Spaghetti

Please forgive my photos as of lately. With the change in season, I have to take my pics under some horrible yellow lighting in a kitchen with no windows, which gives everything a yellow hue. Argh!.lol.

This recipe has somewhat of a story behind it. Once upon a time, when I first met my husband, we lived in a very “humble” home to say the least (well, we still do, just not as bad..lol). Food was low and all we had were a variety of canned beans, noodles, and some tomato sauce. Needless to say I remember that being one of the best meals. After looking back on it, it probably tasted so good because it was all we had. Ok so fast forward to today and I had a craving to explore that recipe a bit further with a little bit more quality ingredients to choose from! This dish is a twist on the classic spaghetti and tomato sauce. It's filled with comfort and a wonderful homemade sauce that is both smoky with a hint of spice and sweetness. By simply leaving out the chicken you can make this a vegetarian meal!

For the chicken you can purchase a pre roasted chicken or roast/bake a couple of seasoned chicken breast. I find with any sauce it is best to prepare this a few hours ahead of time to let all the spices marinate together. Enjoy!



Tex Mex Spaghetti
Serves Six

Ingredients
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Curly Parsley
1/3 C. Green Onion plus more for garnish, sliced
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Salsa
1 C.. Black Beans, cooked, drained and rinsed
1 C.. Red Kidney Beans, cooked,drained and rinsed
1 C. Fresh Green Beans, cut into small pieces
2 C. Roasted Chicken, chopped into chunks
½C. plus 1 Tbsp. Barbecue Sauce, sweet base, plus more for garnish(I use "Sticky Fingers: Carolina Sweet")
1 12oz. Can of Whole Tomatoes
3 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
¼ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Chili powder
¼ tsp. Paprika
¼ tsp. Black Pepper
1/4tsp. Crushed Red pepper
Shredded Cheese, mixed-mexican blend, for garnish
Perciatelli noodles, boiled in salted water

Directions: Place your minced garlic, parsley, onion, olive oil, salsa, and beans in a medium pot. Bring to a medium low to a medium heat and steam covered for 10 minutes. Now place your chicken into your pot along with 1Tbsp. Of your BBQ Sauce. Stir. With your hands, crush the whole tomatoes roughly and place in your pot along with the remaining juice from the can. Add your tomato paste and ½ C. Barbecue Sauce. Stir. Season with your salt, chili powder, paprika, pepper, and crushed pepper. Let simmer covered on low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionaly. Remove from heat.

To Plate: place your noodles on your plate, then your sauce, then your cheese and a few sliced green onions. Drizzle your plate and noodles with a little BBQ sauce!