Cowboy Spaghetti

Cowboy Spaghetti is made with beer, bacon, cheddar and hot sauce. It takes a traditional spaghetti bolognese and amps it up into total dude food. Everyone will love it.

I look forward to occasionally staying at a hotel or a person's house with cable so that I can relive my Food Network binging days when things get boring. I was a bit let down the last time I tried this. Food Network in the UK is sort of awful. They basically only have a handful of shows that the play in four to six hour blocks. One of them is Jamie Oliver, and that's beautiful, but they also play The Pioneer Woman for hours on end, and I just can't abide. It's a good thing no one reads my blog because I'm sure I'd get kicked out of the blogosphere for it, but I find her show so annoying and contrived.

I miss the good old days when Saturday and Sunday mornings featured a different show every half hour, each one with actual recipes and cooking, not silly food competitions or restaurant tours. Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen shared a clip of Sandra Lee making a cocktail the other day, and it was a hilarious hit of nostalgia. I vote they make a Food Network Classic channel where they just replay all the great shows from the 2000's. Sounds pretty awesome to me.

What makes Cowboy Spaghetti so awesome?

It's official. Bacon makes everything better. Case in point, this Cowboy Spaghetti. What makes this different from regular spaghetti bolognese? There's your standard onion, garlic, and tomato, but along with bacon, there's also beer instead of red wine, a bit of hot sauce, and cheddar cheese instead of parmesan. It's an absolutely delicious twist on a family classic. I was proclaiming myself a genius as I ate. Maybe that's why I didn't notice Geoff stealing the remaining bacon that was meant to accompany the rest of the pot of pasta.

This is adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe from her 30 minute meal days, so you know it's easy to accomplish. It will also easily feed your whole family, as we're cooking up a whole package of spaghetti here. With just the two of us in the house, we'll be eating this for probably three days, but I'm not mad at it.

Cowboy Spaghetti has all the good things. Who's coming over for dinner?

Cowboy Spaghetti

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Cowboy Spaghetti is an awesome twist on a family classic, loaded up with bacon and cheddar cheese.

• Author: Renee Rendall
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 pound spaghetti
• salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 slices of bacon
• 1 pound ground beef
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• black pepper
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce (or more if you're into that sort of thing)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ cup beer
• 1 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 500 grams tomato sauce or pasata
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

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Instructions

1. Put a large pot of water over high heat to boil. Don't forget to put a lid on it, or it will take forever. When the water boils, add salt and spaghetti, stirring occasionally.Cook according to package instructions, but check it a minute early to make sure your pasta isn't overcooked.
2. In the mean time, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cut your bacon with scissors right into the pan. Cook to desired level of crispness (the correct answer is very crisp). Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and pour off some of the fat, leaving enough to coat the pan.
3. Add your ground beef to the pan to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Depending on how lean your beef is, you may want to drain the fat off before proceeding.
4. Add the white part of your green onions (save the green tops for later) and garlic to your ground beef and then season with hot sauce and Worcestershire. Add the beer and scrape up any bits that may be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in tomatoes and sauce. Bring everything back up to a simmer and check for seasonings. This is usually where I add more hot sauce. Simmer for about five minutes to allow the sauce to thicken a bit and for all the flavors to marry.
6. After you drain your pasta, put it back in the pot, then pour the sauce over the spaghetti and stir to combine.
7. Top your bowl or plate of spaghetti with plenty of cheddar cheese, a sprinkling of crunchy bacon, and the green tops of your green onions.

Keywords: Spaghetti, Bacon, Tomato Sauce

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Looking for more awesome pasta recipes? Try this Spicy Bacon Mac & Cheese.