Ground Chicken Spaghetti
Cheap, Quick, Easy + Tastes Like Meatballs without all the Work
Our first week of 4th and 8th grade is officially over (well in a few hours). I’ve managed to stay somewhat collected and organized with lunches, laundry, cleaning and work. It’s a lot, isn’t it?
I was just telling my husband this story and I’ll share it with you too. When I was 19 I worked in a Commercial Real Estate Office. I became friends with this girl Donna, who was maybe 30 at the time and had just had a baby.
We went for dinner one night and I went back to her house after to hang out for a bit. The baby went to bed and she just couldn’t sit still. She’s talking to me while doing dishes, taking care of the dog, sweeping, vacuuming in a panic before she had to go to work the next day. I remember leaving thinking what the hell is wrong with her? Why can’t she calm down and just chill out for a minute?
I am now Donna, hahaha! How did this happen? Two kids, a dog, husband and too many damn responsibilities. That’s how.
I’m all about efficiency these days, which means quick, easy dinners on weeknights that have a decent about of nutrition with veggies and protein.
I also like dinner to be cleaned up by about 7:30, so we can prep lunches for the next day and I make coffee the night before and push that lovely little auto start button. That way when I open my door in the morning and smell coffee, it brings me a bit of joy.
This week I made a Ground Chicken Spaghetti, that’s ready in 30 minutes. It’s cheap, uses a jarred marinara, but is seriously loaded with flavor & so good. I was eating it thinking, “man this really tastes like meatballs and I didn’t have to get my hands dirty.”
The Video
I also have to share this Banana Bread recipe with you, because I’m just too proud not to. It’s a good one to have in mind when you have 3 bananas on the countertop that look like they need to be thrown out. DON’T DO IT..Make this recipe instead.
The banana bread itself is amazingly moist with deep flavors from the over ripe bananas, but then there is this crumble streusel topping that really puts the cherry on top.
It’s a must bake recipe!
I know those two recipes totally don’t go together, but I made them both this week and it felt right. Happy Friday and I hope those of you whose kiddos went back to school had a great first week.
Happy Cooking~
Ground Chicken Spaghetti
Serves: 4-5
Time to Make: 30 Minutes
Ingredients:
½ of a 1 lb package of thin Spaghetti (8 ounces), if you have big eaters you may want to cook the whole pack (all 16 ounces)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced fine
16 ounce package of ground chicken
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
20-24 ounce jar of store-bought marinara sauce
1 dried bay leaf
1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded fine
Instructions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stovetop for the pasta. Prepare a dutch oven or deep skillet on medium low heat over the stovetop. Pour in olive oil and allow to warm up for a minute. Toss in diced onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for a few minutes until softened.
Add the ground chicken to the dutch oven and break up the meat with a meat masher or wooden spoon until no longer pink.
Once the ground chicken is almost no longer pink (about 7-8 minutes into cooking), toss in the minced garlic, dried parsley, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low.
Stir in the marinara sauce and bay leaf. Cover and simmer on low heat.
Add the pasta to the boiling water with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt and cook according the package instructions. Once it's finished, strain the pasta. Note: My family likes it about 2 minutes past al dente.
To serve, add the pasta to a bowl and ladle over the ground chicken spaghetti sauce. Top with parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
Don't overcook the ground chicken before adding the sauce. As soon as it's no longer pink, pour in the marinara and simmer in the sauce to keep it nice and juicy.
If you have picky kids, chop those onions and garlic really fine to avoid them from whining "what's in this sauce?"
I like to cook my spaghetti about 1-2 minutes past al dente, meaning firm when bitten into. It's not too firm for anyone in the family this way.
Substitutions and Variations:
Ground Chicken can be substituted with Ground Turkey, Ground Beef, Ground Pork or Italian Sausage. However, if you use pork, beef or sausage, make sure to drain most of the fat from the pan before adding the marinara sauce.
Want to add more veggies? Chop up baby Bella mushrooms or green bell pepper and cook with the onions.
Any jarred marinara or homemade marinara sauce works great for this recipe. Make sure it is a 20-24 ounce jar of sauce.
If you're not big on spaghetti pasta, use linguine, fettuccine, or even different shapes like penne. I do recommend a larger pasta to hold the bulky sauce.
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