Mexican Pasta

Mexican what? Pasta? No, pasta is Italian! Well, the truth is that every region has their "starch". Asians have rice, Mexicans have tortillas, Italians have pasta, and Americans use alot of potatoes. In many dishes other regions do cross into using different starches in their recipes. Americans use rice in dishes like cabbage rolls, italians use potatoes to make gnocchi and for this dinner, it is pasta with mexican food.

This is a simple, forgiving dish. I'm not providing a step by step recipe because it really is easy to put together and use what you have on hand.

Meat:
Chicken thighs. You could use breast, ground beef, pork roast leftovers, whatever. About 3/4 of a pound.

Veggies:
Onions, garlic, extra-virgin olive oil. I also added some frozen corn, black beans, leftover chipotle and a frozen jalapeno. Got a half bell pepper needed a use?

Pasta:
Elbows. I'm trying to switch to mostly whole wheat pasta but it seems as if my pantry has an abundance of elbow noodles. You can use penne or rotini. I supposed you could use fettuccine, but break it up into shorter noodles.

Sauce:
Use canned tomatoes. Puree, crushed, diced, or whole (crush with hands). Basically we're simmering a sauce as a binder for this dish. If you open the cupboard and you have tomato sauce and tomato paste, use that too and mix it up. Too thick? Add some chicken stock. Throw in some salsa. Leftover jar or new, but at least 1 cup.

Seasonings:
Ahh. My favorite part. I love opening the spice cupboard and debating about what looks good. I added garlic powder, onion powder (these are powders, not salts), lots of chili powder, ground cumin, pinch salt and black pepper.

Garnish:
Cheese, sour cream, green onions

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, soften a bit. I add a bit of stock to keep things moist. Add meat, jalapeno and bell pepper if using and stir. Drain off any fat if needed. Sprinkle your seasonings over the mixture. Add tomato/salsa. Simmer over medium low heat for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Sample the mexican sauce and see if you think it needs more. Add the chipotle if desired. Then add the beans and corn. Simmer until desired consistency. This will be thicker once you add your pasta. Toss in your pasta and mix.

Serve into bowls, top with cheese and other garnishes.