Fried Spaghetti

We got home last night after being frozen out of a short backpacking trip (I have recipes and food info about that trip for you soon), and, as things usually go, we woke up hungry this morning.

I had nothing to make for breakfast, and not even enough soy milk for a bowl of cereal.

While perusing my fridge I saw a small container of leftover penne from last week. Fried spaghetti immediately was on the daily specials menu.

This was almost a breakfast staple in my house as a kid. My husband, however, had never had it before I made it for him. If we had leftover pasta and no more sauce, fried spaghetti was definitely going to be made in the next few days. I suspect my dad often made extra pasta just so he could be sure to have some lonely, leftover, naked pasta to work with.

The great thing about fried spaghetti is you can do anything you want with it. It’s fantastic with onions and green peppers, wonderful with spinach and mushrooms, and is even really good with vegan chorizo, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and a sprinkle of your fav vegan cheese (I like daiya for this). Essentially what you’re doing is making hash browns or home fries with noodles instead of potatoes.

This sad morning, however, the cupboards were bare, and I had mine with ketchup, which is how I suspect I liked it best as a kid.

Here’s the basic method. If you’re fancying yours up, cook things like onions, peppers, and mushrooms before adding the pasta. Add things like spinach after the pasta gets a little crispy.

Heat a little Earth Balance in a cast iron skillet. When it’s all melted add whatever shape pasta you have (spaghetti really is the best, but anything works), and add a little salt and pepper. Cook until the pasta is crunchy and golden in some spots. Enjoy!!