Nana’s Texas Spaghetti is an original creation of John’s maternal grandmother, Janie Cook Smith (Nana to the grandkids). When John and I first started dating, I would suggest that we have spaghetti for supper, and he would refuse. For the longest I thought that he just didn’t like spaghetti. Then we visited his parents. Turns out, he would only eat his grandmother’s spaghetti.
We sat down to a spaghetti supper, his mom served my plate, and I thought that I must have misheard that we were having for spaghetti. The food on my plate looked nothing like the pasta and bottled Ragu that my Mom usually served. There was a layer of spaghetti noodles, a layer of cheddar cheese, and a layer of meat sauce. And by meat sauce, I mean meat sauce – there were very few tomatoes. And it was spicy, with Rotel. But being a polite guest, I started eating and discovered to my delight that while their spaghetti was nothing like my Mom’s, I liked it!
On a future visit John’s mom taught me how to make the spaghetti, and it’s the only recipe that I have used since then. I lost the recipe that she wrote out for me in one of our many moves, so I’ve been making the recipe from memory for a few years. And, I must confess that I’ve tweaked it a little bit, adding the optional can of tomatoes, substituting gluten free pasta, and now making it with tofu rather than ground beef. But the recipe that follows is Nana’s original recipe as best as I remember it, and taste-tested and approved by John’s mom.
Nana’s Texas Spaghetti
1 Tbsp. canola or olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1.5 lbs ground beef or turkey (or one container extra firm tofu)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. gluten free Worcestershire sauce
1 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes (a second can is optional)
1 10 oz. can Rotel Original
12 oz. package gluten free spaghetti
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
parmesan cheese
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the oil is heating, dice the onion and pepper. Add the onion and pepper to the heated oil and stir so that all the pieces are coated with oil. Cook over medium, stirring every now and then, for 5 minutes.
2. If you are using ground turkey or beef, then you will add this to the onions and peppers once they have cooked for 5 minutes. Add the meat to the skillet and then use a large spoon or spatula to break the meat into small pieces as it browns. Continue doing this until there is absolutely no pink left in the meat. Drain any excess oil from the pan before proceeding.
If you are using tofu, then grab another skillet and heat another 2 Tbsp of oil over medium-low. While the oil is heating, drain the tofu and press out as much water as possible. Once the oil is hot, crumble the tofu into the skillet and continue as if you were browning meat. The tofu will not actually brown, but it will dry out. Once the tofu seems lighter in weight and is not leaving any liquid on the skillet when you stir, then it’s ready. Add the tofu into the onion and pepper mixture.
3. Add the garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, and Rotel to the meat or tofu mixture and simmer over low for 45 – 60 minutes. (If you’re pressed for time, you can shorten this to 15 without affecting the flavor too much.)
4. While the sauce is simmering, start heating the water for the pasta. Once the water is boiling, add the spaghetti and cook according to the instructions on the package. When the pasta has finished cooking, drain it into a colander and set aside. (If it will be a few minutes before you can move on to Step 5, then toss the pasta with a teaspoon of olive oil so that it doesn’t stick together)
5. Once the sauce and the pasta are done, it’s time to assemble. Grab a 2 quart casserole dish and spread the spaghetti across the bottom. Then sprinkle the 2 c. of shredded Cheddar cheese in an even layer over the spaghetti. The last layer is the meat mixture – scoop up some of the meat with a slotted spoon and then use another slotted spoon to press down on the meat so that all of the liquid is expressed. Then put the spoonful of meat on top of the cheese and repeat untill all of the meat has been added to the dish. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on the top and you are ready to eat.
Delicious! Ive put together a huge collection of Italian dinner ideas and am adding this to it!
This recipe is awesome. Mary Frances is married to my cousin and I know my grandma could cook some mean meals. My mom (grandmas dau) made this last night w/o the gluten products and it was awesome. I had to go back this morning for more so I could have it for lunch!!!!
Mary,
Thanks for such a glowing recommendation. I’m so glad that you and your mom got to share this for a family meal!
Mary Frances
This looks absolutley delightful, but we have tomato allergies in the house. I wonder if you could substitute a homemade chunky red pepper sauce. I make it into red pepper salsa, so why couldn’t I change the spices to italian and run with it? Just thinking out loud.
Jeanne
Jeanne,
I think the red pepper sauce would be great. I’ve never had any, so if you’d like to share the recipe when you’ve made it, I’d love to try it.
[...] Nana’s Texas Spaghetti (substituting kidney beans for the [...]
Question regarding doneness of Sandwich Bread:
On the All Purpose Flour Mix I have:
3 parts brown rice flolur
3 parts potato starch
2 parts sorghum flour
1 part almond flour
Sandwich Bread
I’ve substituted the flaxseed and water for the eggs.
I’m having trouble getting this baked until it is done. I do it in the oven and after 55 min. it is brown and even loose in the pan. What is wrong???
Jan
@Jan: My first guess is that the problem is the combination of the almond substitute and the flaxseed substitute. Even when I just do the flaxseed my bread comes out a little more moist than I like it, and the almond flour may not soak up as much water as the masa harina. Try using 4 parts potato starch and leaving out the almond flour and see how that does.