A few months ago I posted about the new phenomenon of spaghetti tacos that started because of the Nickelodeon show “iCarly.”

I decided to test out this recipe and update it for adult tastes. Here is my recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 pound Italian turkey sausage
• 1 pound spaghetti noodles (I used whole wheat angel hair pasta but feel free to use your favorite)
• 1 jar of your favorite tomato/pasta sauce
• 8 soft taco-size tortillas
• Margarine or butter
• Garlic bread seasoning
• Basil (for garnish)
• Fresh mozzarella balls (for garnish)
• Parmesan cheese (for garnish)

Directions

1. Brown the Italian sausage and crumble into smaller pieces.

2. After draining the oil and fat from the meat, add the jar of sauce and heat until hot over a medium to high heat. Feel free to add other ingredients to your sauce if you’d like. Some suggestions are mushrooms, minced garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. I only added a little bit of Italian seasoning mix (oregano, red pepper flakes etc.) to punch up the spice to the premade sauce.

3. While the sauce is cooking, in another large pot begin to boil water and prepare the pasta as directed on the box. Also, preheat the oven to broil. Prepare the 8 tacos shells by laying them out on a large cookie/baking sheet. Spread butter or margarine on the tortillas and gently sprinkle some garlic bread seasoning on each one. When the oven is fully heated, place the taco shells in the oven until they are crisp, bubbly and golden brown – about 5 minutes or so.

4. Drain the pasta once it has reached al dente (soft but firm to the bite) – usually 7-10 minutes for thin spaghetti.

5. When the pasta is cooked and sauce is hot, add the pasta to the sauce pot and mix everything together.

6. To prepare your taco, take a shell and add the pasta mixture. Then, garnish with mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and basil leaves.

The finished recipe is sure to please kids. My husband and Dad were a little leery of the new concoction but still ate it up. I can see why this is a favorite with the ‘tween crowd – it takes something very familiar like spaghetti and tacos and puts a fun little twist on it. It’s also quite simple and fast to make so if you’re just not in the mood for regular spaghetti or taco night during the week, try this recipe to add a little variety to the mix.

Happy eating!