Taco Spaghetti

I swear we don't eat pasta everyday. It seems like that is all I have been posting lately. Don't worry though, I have a few gems coming to spice things up! Nine times out of ten when you think of pasta you think of Italian. I'm talking your red sauces and alfredos. However this dish, found here, has a Mexican/semi-healthy (I did eat mine as a salad so that counts right) spin to it. It is super easy and defiantly a crowd pleaser. I mean who doesn't like tacos and pasta. You can also make numerous substitutions like gluten free pasta, turkey or chicken instead of beef, etc. Plus, you can eat it as is, like I did in a salad form (I wanted avocado too, but mine was bad), or with any other combination of ingredients that you love. You basically can make it as healthy or as unhealthy as you wish. However you end up making it, I'm sure you'll have people coming back for more! Enjoy!

Taco Spaghetti

Ingredients
5 ounces dried spaghetti, broken
1 pound ground beef 
1 large onion, chopped
I package taco seasoning mix

water (as much as indicated on taco seasoning mix)
11 ounce can whole kernel corn with peppers, drained
1 cup colby jack cheese, shredded, divided
1/2 cup salsa
4 ounce can diced green chili peppers, drained

Optional

shredded lettuce
tortilla chips
tomato
sour cream


Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion until meat is brown. Drain any excess fat. Stir in the water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cooked pasta, corn, 1/2 cup of  cheese, salsa, and green chili peppers.

Pour mixture into prepared casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until melted, should only take a couple of minutes.

Serve alone or with any of the optional toppings!