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!

Eggplant Parmesan

Tonight's dinner was Eggplant Parmesan and I must say that it was quite delicious. I keep things pretty simple when it comes to this dish and I like to layer the seasonings as I go and I used the Barilla name brand for the marinara sauce!

Eggplant Parmesan
Serves 5

Ingredients

1 Small Eggplant, peeled and sliced medium width
2 C. Italian Style Bread Crumbs
1 tsp. Ground Thyme
1 tsp. Salt
¼ C. Flour
1 Egg, beaten
2 Tbsp. Fresh Curly Parsley, finely chopped
Fresh Mozzarella
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil
Marinara Sauce
Sun Dried Tomato Paste
1 Bunch of Fresh Baby Spinach
Spaghetti Noodles

Directions: Place a pot of salted water onto the stove and slowly bring to a boil. Place your marinara sauce into a pot and let simmer on low.

In the meantime, pour your breadcrumbs, flour, thyme and salt onto a large plate and using a spoon mix all the ingredients together. Take your slices of eggplant and lightly salt the tops of them. Using a pastry brush, brush your egg wash onto the tops of your eggplant.

Place the tops of your eggplant with the egg face down into your bread crumb mixture. Now brush the tops of the eggplant that are facing up with the egg wash and continue breading the tops of the eggplant slices. Heat your olive oil on medium heat. Place your eggplant slices into your skillet and let brown until golden and crisp on both sides. Place cooked eggplant slices onto a baking sheet lined with foil and a bit of non-stick cooking spray. Continue browning the rest of your eggplant. Note: you may need to rinse and re-oil your pan should your oil become filled with overcooked bread crumbs.

Lightly sprinkle some salt onto the tops of your eggplants. Scoop a dollop of your marinara sauce onto the tops. Then spread your shredded fresh mozzarella on top of your sauce. Sprinkle your desired amount of parmesan cheese on top and finish off with your chopped parsley. Bake in a 350 degree oven until mozzarella is bubbly.

Place your spaghetti noodles into your pot of boiling water. Once cooked drain your water and immediately put in your spinach, sun dried tomato paste, and a generous amount of finely grated parmesan, and toss together until your spinach has lightly wilted.

Plating: Place your desired amount of spaghetti onto your plate. Pour marinara sauce on top and place two slices of eggplant on top of your sauce. Sprinkle with more grated parmesan and serve!