Taco Spaghetti

Submitted by Julesong

"This tasty dinner happened completely by accident. A few years back I had spiced taco meat left over, and... well, below is the result. Rich and tasty! A rib-sticker. :)"

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Serves: 2-4

ingredients

• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons dried ancho chile powder
• 1 teaspoon dried chipotle powder
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon pepper
• 1⁄4 cup sherry wine
• 16 ounces spaghetti
• water
• 3 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1 - 1 1⁄2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (depending on the number of people eating)

directions

1. First of all, everybody has their favorite spaghetti sauce; if you've taken the time to make your own, if you're like me you probably made enough to have a lot left over to store in the freezer or fridge- use some of that for this; or if you like it out of the jar, that's fine too; use whatever sauce you'd like for this spaghetti: it's your meal, after all.
2. Start heating your water for cooking the pasta; you don't want to have to start the pasta cooking process from cold water.
3. Now, moving on to the"taco" section: heat a skillet on the stove over medium-high heat and add the olive oil to coat the bottom; then add the butter and let it melt.
4. Toss in the onion and garlic and let it simmer until softened- be careful that the garlic doesn't burn!
5. When the onion and garlic are ready, add the ground beef (um, that's hamburger to you and me!) in pieces to the pan.
6. As it cooks, use a metal spatula to make it into smaller pieces; some people call this"hamburger gravel.
7. "When it's about 1/2 to 3/4 done cooking, add the cumin, coriander, chili powders, oregano, salt, and pepper; continue cooking until it's done, and drain.
8. Turn up the heat on your pasta water until it's boiling and toss in a little salt, then break the spaghetti in half and add it to the now-boiling water; cook it according to package directions.
9. Meanwhile, add the sherry to the drained beef mixture and stir to coat it well.
10. Add the beef mixture to the spaghetti sauce in a largish saucepan, stirring well to incorporate the two.
11. Put the cover on the pan and put on medium high for about 3 minutes, then lower the heat to medium, remove the cover, and let it simmer and thicken while your pasta is cooking.
12. When the pasta is done to your preference, drain it and put it in a big bowl, then pour in the sauce and stir it all together to mix it well.
13. Portion it out on plates and put a generous amount of grated cheddar on each and enjoy!
14. Serves 2 really hungry people w/ small salads, 3 moderately hungry, or 4 if you make big salads to go with.