Spaghetti Mac — Connie’s Chili Couldn’t Wait, But This One’s Mine

I went back to the Beaumont site Monday because I am a Hensley and Hensley men are stubborn past the point of reason. Mike had asked me to check the framing on the second floor — just look, just eyes, no lifting. I climbed the stairs they'd roughed in, which is twelve steps, which used to be nothing. By step eight my lower back was a fist clenching around my spine. By step ten I was gripping the stud wall. I made it to the top and stood there and looked at the framing and it was good and Danny had done it right and I didn't need to be there. I went back down the stairs sideways, one hand on the wall, like an old man. I am fifty-three. I am not old. But my back doesn't know that.

Tuesday morning I bent down to pick up a piece of scrap lumber that was in the walkway — two-by-four offcut, couldn't have weighed three pounds — and my back dropped me. Not a warning this time. A detonation. I went to my knees on the concrete slab in front of four men who have watched me frame houses for fifteen years, and I couldn't get up. Danny got to me first. He said don't move, Craig, just stay down. I stayed down because I couldn't do anything else. They helped me to the truck. I drove home at twenty miles an hour with the seat reclined because sitting upright was not an option. I pulled into the driveway and sat there until Connie came home at five-thirty and found me.

She didn't panic. Connie doesn't panic. She got me inside, got me flat on the floor with a pillow under my knees, brought me ibuprofen and a glass of water and her hand on my forehead, which had nothing to do with medicine and everything to do with marriage. She said this is it, Craig. I said I know. She said you're calling the disability office tomorrow. I said I know. She said I love you and you're done. I said I know.

I spent the rest of the week on the floor and the couch, alternating, because the bed was too soft and the chair was too hard and I was Goldilocks with a herniated disc. Connie made chili Wednesday — her chili, not mine, which is better than mine though I will deny this publicly. Ground beef, kidney beans, tomatoes, onion, chili powder, cumin, a little brown sugar that she thinks is her secret and isn't. She brought me a bowl on the couch. I ate it lying on my side. That's what fifty-three looks like when the body is done negotiating.

Connie’s chili got me through Wednesday. But lying there on the couch Thursday, staring at the ceiling, I started thinking about the things I’d cook if I could stand long enough to cook them — and Spaghetti Mac kept coming back to me. Ground beef, pasta, cheese, something you can eat in a bowl without ceremony, without sitting up straight, without pretending the week didn’t happen. When I’m back on my feet, this is the first thing I’m making. Consider it a promise to myself.

Spaghetti Mac

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 8 oz spaghetti, broken into thirds
• 1 cup elbow macaroni
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. Brown the beef. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook 3 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds more. Add ground beef, breaking it apart, and cook until no pink remains, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
2. Add liquids and seasoning. Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beef broth. Add Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Cook the pasta. Add the broken spaghetti and elbow macaroni directly into the skillet. Stir to submerge. Reduce heat to medium, cover loosely, and cook 12–14 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
4. Add the cheese. Remove from heat. Scatter shredded cheddar over the top, cover, and let sit 2–3 minutes until cheese is melted. Stir gently to combine.
5. Serve. Dish into bowls. This one holds well if you need to eat it sideways on the couch.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 47g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 680mg