Southwestern Spaghetti
photo by Charlotte J
- Ready In:
- 35mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1⁄2 cup chopped onion
- 2 1⁄4 cups water
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 -2 tablespoon chili powder (I like a strong chili flavor)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 (7 ounce) package thin spaghetti, broken into thirds
- 6 small zucchini, cut into chunks (1 lb.)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
directions
- In a skillet, cook the ground beef and onion over medium heat, until the beef is browned; drain.
- Remove beef mixture from skillet and keep warm.
- In the same skillet, add water, tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and cumin.
- Bring to a boil.
- Add spaghetti and stir to combine; return to a boil.
- Boil for 6 minutes.
- Add in the zucchini and cook for 5-6 minutes or until spaghetti and zucchini are tender, stirring often.
- Add the cooked beef and stir to combine.
- Sprinkle cheese evenly on top.
- Serve immediately.
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Reviews
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This is a nice one dish meal that is quick to the table. I used whole wheat pasta and crookneck squash when I made mine today. I did not add any cheese today but I know I'd like it with the cheese. Made for Zaar Chef Alphabet Soup game 2010 -
I made this as written except I didnt have quite enough chili powder for a full TBS so used about a tsp. I also used thin egg noodles (they're already broken up;) ) This was very tasty. I am not sure I'd say it tasted "southwestern" but it was good!! I may use taco seasoning if I made this again. Thanks Di!
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I also looked this up in Quick Cooking-just to compare notes! I won't rate this cuz I made changes! I actually cooked my whole wheat spaghetti separately & added it to the skillet it at end, so I skipped the water & used some salsa instead. I used taco sauce for the tomato sauce, and didn't use any salt-also used a lot less chili powder! I used reduced fat mexican cheese & lean ground turkey. It was fabulous! I've been looking for a mexican dish that used zucchini so I was so happy when I stumbled upon this. Thank u for sharing this. -
I, too, had found a similar recipe in Quick Cooking. My version: Instead of tomato sauce, I used about 1.5 cups of chunky, spicy salsa, and added some turmeric. Really spicy but that is how we like it. Instead of cheddar, I used 1/4 c. shredded smoked mozzerella. My husband LOVED this dish with my edits and he usually dislikes pasta of any kind!
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I originally saw this recipe in Quick Cooking magazine (only difference is they didn't have onion and used 2 tsp chili powder). It is easy and tasty; spaghetti with a little zing. We will definitely have this for dinner again. Just be sure to use a large enough skillet as there ends up being a lot of food. I was pushing the envelope on the skillet and the stove got a bit messy. Live and learn.
Tweaks
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I also looked this up in Quick Cooking-just to compare notes! I won't rate this cuz I made changes! I actually cooked my whole wheat spaghetti separately & added it to the skillet it at end, so I skipped the water & used some salsa instead. I used taco sauce for the tomato sauce, and didn't use any salt-also used a lot less chili powder! I used reduced fat mexican cheese & lean ground turkey. It was fabulous! I've been looking for a mexican dish that used zucchini so I was so happy when I stumbled upon this. Thank u for sharing this.
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I, too, had found a similar recipe in Quick Cooking. My version: Instead of tomato sauce, I used about 1.5 cups of chunky, spicy salsa, and added some turmeric. Really spicy but that is how we like it. Instead of cheddar, I used 1/4 c. shredded smoked mozzerella. My husband LOVED this dish with my edits and he usually dislikes pasta of any kind!
