Taco Spaghetti

INGREDIENTS

• 12 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 envelope taco seasoning
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
• 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided
• 2/3 cup salsa

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Break spaghetti into thirds; cook according to package directions for al dente.
   
2. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain. Stir in taco seasoning and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in beans, tomatoes, 1 cup cheese and salsa. Drain spaghetti; add to beef mixture and toss to combine.
4. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake, covered, 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

MY CHANGES

• I didn't deal with the dutch oven cooking of my beef.  When I buy ground beef, I cook up several pounds at once in a pot on the stove with chopped up onions in it.  Then bag up the cooked meat for the freezer.  So, I just pulled out a pound of meat for step #2.
• I used Italian herb flavored diced tomatoes because I didn't have any green chiles.

 FAMILY OPINION

• They ALL loved it - all 6 kids (ages 5 - 15), husband and myself.
• The only thing that was odd to me was the black beans with the spaghetti noodles.  It may have been the texture differences or the fact that I've never had those two things together.
• DEFINITELY making this one again.  So simple and so easy.