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6 tbsp. (3/4 stick) butter or oil
Melt butter in Dutch oven or very large skillet. Add onion; cook until softened.
If possible, beat veggie "beef" with electric mixer. (This isn't mandatory, but will make it easier to crumble.) Add beef to onions. Pound with potato masher to crumble. Cook, stirring, until browned.
Bring water to boil in large pot. Add spaghetti. Cook as directed on package. Drain well.
Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, beans, drained pasta, chili peppers, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce flame to very low, cover pan, and cook for 1 hour.
Sprinkle each serving with chopped scallions and sour cream or shredded cheese.
Since the pasta will absorb some of the sauce, try cooking for only 30 minutes if you're planning to reheat it.
Poster's Notes:
Well, I had to try that. Although I had planned to use vegetarian "beef" the first time, and then try it substituting portabello mushrooms, this was too good to tamper with. I loved it.
This was apparently an old recipe ... I adapted it to use can sizes currently available, and this recipe worked perfectly. I am writing this the way I made mine. Since I substituted fat-free vegetarian beef for 2 pounds ground beef, I had to increase the butter. The 14-ounce packages were more than sufficient.
Posted by Virginia Sauer (Sir Angus), Z'L
Nutritional Info Per Serving: N/A
2 medium-sized onions, peeled and chopped
2 14-oz. packages fat-free veggie "beef"
Water
8 oz. dry spaghetti (or use 4 cups cooked pasta of your choice, such as elbow macaroni)
1 28-oz. can peeled whole tomatoes packed in their own juice, undrained
2 8-oz. cans of tomato sauce
1 6-oz. can of tomato paste
2 15-oz. cans red kidney beans, partially drained
1 4-oz. can chopped chili peppers, undrained
1/2 tsp. salt
Chopped Scallions (garnish)
Sour cream or shredded Cheddar cheese (garnish)
I found this recipe in a celebrity cookbook compiled by Frank Sinatra's widow. It was contributed by Pat Boone, who recounted how, as a newcomer to Hollywood attending a big party, he was startled to see his wife chatting with Clark Gable. Dashing over to join them, he was introduced with a casual, "Dear, these are Clark and Kay Gable." It developed that the Gables had seen his Chili Mac recipe in a celebrity cookbook, and had been eating it once a week ever since.