Mexican Spaghetti

So I may complain about my inability to cook small dishes.  Tonight, that inability paid off!My dad and Mom2 along with my sister Jennifer, her husband Brian, their five kids, my sister Emily and her boyfriend Sean, and Jonathan, my youngest brother have all descended upon me this weekend for the holiday.  The only one missing from the group is my brother Joseph, his wife Lindsay and their two kids.

The original plan was they were all going to get dinner along the way from wherever they were coming from.  First Jonathan showed up early, needing to have dinner.  Then Jennifer and her crew did the same.  I had to cook anyway, so FINALLY, my food fed an army.  I was just going to quickly make a piece of chicken for me with some veggies and call it good.When Jonathan showed up I had to go to plan B.  We ran to the market and picked up a few items.  I have been wanting to make my Mexican spaghetti, a dish I developed while living in Houston many lifetimes ago.  Now was my opportunity.

This dish was created out of desperation one night.  I was on my Mormon mission and for some reason the members of the local congregation weren’t feeding the lady or sister missionaries.  I later learned they felt women knew how to cook, so they didn’t need to feed us.  I fixed that quickly, as it was a time issue and moreover an opportunity for us to get to know those local members we were serving among.  But this one night, we had very few things in the apartment and fast food wasn’t an option in the tiny town we were living in.  I knew I could make something for us to eat and succeed.  I found dry spaghetti, canned corn, black beans, salsa, chicken, and cheese.  Viola! Dinner was created.  Over the years I have played with the recipe and tweaked it.  But it is still as delicious as it was that very first time, all those many years ago in Magnolia, Texas.  (Look it up, it’s a teeny tiny town.)

The pan is now empty, many second-helpings were served, so my family loved it as much as I do.