Not long ago Zack was reminiscing of his childhood days in Florence, Kentucky and this dish popped into his head. The flavor of the sauce is very unusual, complex, and delicious. We like it so much, we’ve added it to our monthly rotation! This dish can be vegetarian and quite delicious by substituting Quorn Crumbles for the beef.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 lb ground beef or 10 oz. bag of Quorn Crumbles
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 Tbs chili powder
• 2 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa
• 2 15 oz cans unsalted tomato sauce
• 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
• 1 16 oz package uncooked spaghetti

Toppings

• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups shredded medium or sharp cheddar cheese
• oyster crackers **

Directions

1. In a heavy bottomed 5 quart pot, saute onion, ground beef, garlic and chili powder over medium-high heat until ground beef is slightly cooked.
2. Add allspice, cinnamon, cumin, salt, cocoa, tomato sauce, kidney beans, Worcestershire sauce, and water.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for an hour and a half.
4. 30 minutes before sauce is done, boil water and cook spaghetti.
5. To serve, place a serving of noodles on plate and top with sauce, cheese, onions, then oyster crackers.

Serves 6-8 (or 4 if you eat like we do!)

**We have found one brand of oyster cracker beats the rest – Olde Cape Cod from Safeway.