One Pan Mexican Pasta

September has been kicking my ass.  When I have time to cook, it's going to be quick, and if I can pull it off while dirtying only one pan...well, that's a win-win.

This one pan Mexican pasta dish fits the bill.  Quick, easy, delicious.  And only one dirty pan.

The ingredients are simple, and you probably already have them in your pantry and freezer.

Brown some ground beef and onions, season, stir in the remaining ingredients, wait for the pasta to cook, and eat.  

One dirty pan.  Awesome.

One Pan Mexican Pasta

Ingredients

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ tsp chili powder
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp pepper

3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

1 cup salsa, homemade or store-bought

1 ½ cups chicken broth

1 (28 oz / 796 ml) can diced tomatoes

1 (19 oz / 540 ml)can black beans, rinsed

1 ½ cups frozen corn kernels

Directions

Scramble fry ground beef with diced onions.  When beef is cooked and onions are translucent, add garlic and spices.  Stir.  

Add remaining ingredients, stirring well to combine.  Bring to a gentle boil.  Ensure the pasta is covered by liquid and allow to simmer, covered, until pasta is cooked through.  Stir occasionally while simmering.  If the liquid is absorbed before the pasta is cooked, add a small amount of water to the pan.

If you can resist eating this straight out of the pan, you can garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado or cilantro, but it's seriously yummy just the way it is :)

Looking for more one pan meals?  How about Italian sausage and peppers?

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I've had to suspend comments on this post temporarily due to an unbelievable amount of spam.  Who knew those spammers would be such fans of Mexican Pasta?  Feel free to email me directly if you have a pressing comment or question!

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Tuna Casserole

The past week has been all about settling into new schedules and routines.  Or slipping back into old schedules and routines I suppose, depending on how you look at it. 

Finding gorgeous clementines at the grocery store.

Reading.

Hockey equipment strewn about the foyer, every day.

Packing lunches.

There have been less take-out, less fend for yourself, less quickie dinner nights.

I've cooked real meals almost every night.  Except for pizza night of course.  We don't mess with pizza night around here.

Chicken fajitas, tacos (made with my homemade taco seasoning), roast chicken with green beans and potatoes, honey pineapple chicken, and tuna casserole.

This tuna casserole is a regular in my meal rotation.  It is requested often and makes the best leftovers, so I almost always end up doubling the recipe.

This is comfort food.

I sometimes add frozen veggies, in an attempt at boosting the nutritional value, but the kids tend to eat around the offending additions so I usually don't bother.  It calls for canned cream of mushroom soup, which isn't my favourite ingredient, but sometimes you just have to talk yourself into using processed ingredients for the sake of making something tasty that everyone will actually eat.  I've tried replacing the canned soup with a basic white sauce, something that works well in a lot of casserole recipes I make, but it just isn't great in this tuna casserole.  

It's an ordinary looking dish, and doesn't photograph well, but sometimes the least attractive things can also be the most wonderful.  This really is the best tuna casserole.  I use egg noodles, which are my favourite, but it works just as well with elbow macaroni, rotini, fusilli or small shells.  I use old cheddar for the best flavour, but any cheddar will do.  I've also used a combination of cheddar, mozzarella, marble, and farmers cheese to accommodate whatever I may have had on hand.  All worked well.  I always use Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup.  Other brands will work, but somehow it just isn't the same.  Sort of like the time I tried to use the basic white sauce instead :)

Tuna Casserole

1 package (12-oz / 340 g) extra broad egg noodles*

2 cans of tuna**

1 can of Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup

3/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 cups cheddar, shredded, divided***

Salt and pepper to taste.

Panko bread crumbs 

Boil noodles according to package directions, until al dente.

In a large bowl, combine tuna, condensed soup, milk, mayonnaise, and half of the shredded cheddar.  Stir to combine, breaking up any large chunks of tuna.  At this point you could add some frozen peas or frozen mixed veggies, or not.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Add drained, cooked pasta.  Stir to combine.  Transfer to a casserole dish, top with bread crumbs and remaining cheddar cheese.  Bake, covered, at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, until heated through.

*The egg noodles I buy come in 375 g packages.  The small difference in quantity doesn't seem to make a difference, so don't stress if your package quantity isn't exactly the same.

**If doubling the recipe, use three cans of tuna.  Four cans ends up being too much

***Also, when doubling the recipe, twice the amount of cheese isn't necessary.  I use about three cups total, divided. But extra cheese may not be a bad thing either :)

*Update*

I found a reciped for homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup.  I'll be trying this next time!

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Homemade Spaghetti-O's

These homemade spaghetti-o's go a long way to easing mommy guilt.  The kind of guilt you feel when you have to resort to the boxed macaroni and cheese in the cupboard.  I try to make healthy meals for my kids, but sometimes time, or lack of it, is the enemy.  I am not above tossing frozen chicken nuggets in the oven, or opening a can of prepared pasta, but when a recipe like this works out so well, it's worth the extra few minutes spent at the stove.

Homemade Spaghetti-O's

Adapted from this recipe at Back to the Cutting Board

Ingredients:

2 -14 oz (398 ml) cans tomato sauce

3 cups water

3 tsp sugar

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

8 oz ditalini pasta

4 oz shredded sharp cheddar (approx 1 cup)

1/8 cup milk

1 tbsp butter

Directions:

In a large pot over medium heat, stir together tomato sauce, water, sugar, garlic powder, and salt.  Bring to a boil

Add pasta and lower heat.  Stir frequently while simmering - this pasta likes to stick to the bottom of the pot.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes until pasta is cooked.

Remove from heat.  Add shredded cheddar, milk, and butter.  Stir until the cheese has melted.  Serve right away.  This will thicken as it cools, so you may need to add some milk or water to re-heat. 

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One Pan Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta

In my never ending quest for quick, healthy, and tasty weeknight meals, I find myself referring more to Pinterest and a few favourite food bloggers, and less to the collection of cookbooks I've built over the years.

Which is how I stumbled across this recipe at Iowa Girl Eats.  I made some minor changes to accommodate what I had on hand, and increased the quantities to allow for many teenagers feeding at the same time.  I ended up with an amazing dish that everyone ate, it took me less than an hour to make, and I only dirtied one pan....and a cutting board...and a knife... and a spatula.

Red and green peppers, and a Vidalia onion.

Mild Italian sausages, because not everyone in our house likes the hot ones.  Use Hot Italian sausages if you prefer.

When they're finished cooking, remove them from the pan and cut into quarters.  Then sauté your veggies in the same pan.

Pour in some chicken stock and marinara sauce, along with a few spices.  Add the pasta and sausages.  Simmer until the pasta is cooked.  Eat.

One Pan Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta

adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

2 packages Italian sausage, 10 sausages total

1/4 cup water

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1/2 large white Vidalia onion, or one small cooking onioin, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups chicken broth 

3 cups marinara sauce

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp crushed chili pepper 

1/4 tsp thyme

1 lb / 900 g penne pasta

Cook the sausages in a large pan, this will feed eight people....unless you cut the quantities in half.  Once they start to brown, pour in 1/4 cup of water so they don't blacken and stick to the pan.  While they're cooking, slice up your peppers and onions.  When the sausages are cooked through, remove to a plate or cutting board.

Sauté the peppers and onions in the same pan that the sausages cooked it.  Don't clean it...you want to keep those pan flavours.  When the veggies are crisp tender, add the garlic and sauté for another minute or so.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour in the chicken broth (I used turkey broth) and a good quality, authentic marinara sauce.  This is not the time to be opening up the Ragu or the Prego.  I used a jar of the White Linen Marinara Sauce from Costco. Stir in the spices and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the pasta and ensure it is entirely covered by the liquid. Cut the cooked sausages into quarters and place them on on top of the rest of the ingredients in the pan. Cover and simmer 8-10 minutes until the pasta is cooked al dente. Stir and serve, with or without some shredded cheese or shaved parmesan on top :)

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