"Are those hot dogs in your spaghetti?"

When I was younger, I avoided eating Filipino spaghetti in front of people who weren’t Filipino… not because I was ashamed, but because I hated having to answer the question, “are those hot dogs in your spaghetti?” and then I would get laughed at. I was silly for caring about what other people thought of my food. I was too young to realize that they most likely never tried it and if they had, they’d probably love it as much as I do. Heck, now I don’t even care. In fact, I just brought some to work and posted a picture on my social networks. If they aren’t buying my food, it doesn’t matter what they think. I’m so glad I grew out of that. If they tried asking me that now, I’d probably say “yes, those are hot dogs in my spaghetti. Would you like some?” and fling a hot dog at them, aiming for their forehead. Just kidding. I wouldn’t.


This is my baby boy, Ryan, during one of his
Little League games.:)

Nowadays, when Ryan asks his daily question: “What are we having for dinner?” and I answer “Filipino spaghetti”, his reply is “Yes!” Sometimes his response includes a little fist pump. Sometimes he asks if he can bring the leftovers to school. This makes me giddy inside. He’s an athlete, so I need to keep him fed. And what better way to do so than spaghetti? It’s tasty, inexpensive and filling!

When someone mentions “spaghetti” I think of garlic bread. So when I serve up some Filipino spaghetti, I try to make some garlic pandesal to go with it. My family loves it! Just slice some pandesal in half, spread butter on both halves, lightly sprinkle garlic powder and parsley, and pop it in the oven at 400°F for 5-8 minutes.

Here’s my recipe!

Kayfletch's Filipino Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 hot dogs, sliced (I use the red Filipino hot dogs)

½ cup ketchup

¼ cup sugar

2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp black pepper

1 jar of marinara sauce

1 lb. spaghetti noodles

Directions:

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Prepare spaghetti noodles as directed (boil, drain, rinse). Set aside.

In a large wok over high medium heat, heat wok and add vegetable oil. When vegetable oil is hot, add garlic, onions, and hot dogs. Saute until hot dogs start to brown. When hot dogs start getting toasty, add ground beef and continue to saute until ground beef is brown and fully cooked. Remove wok from heat to drain oil and return to heat. Add garlic powder, black pepper, ketchup. Saute ingredients for 5 minutes. Add in marinara sauce and sugar. Reduce heat to low-medium and allow sauce to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in spaghetti noodles and mix thoroughly. Toss mixture occasionally over heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and enjoy!

 ENJOY AND GOD BLESS!

XOXO, Kayfletch