GABSPAG.

I've cooked more in the past 6 years here in the U.S than I did in all 16 years in the Philippines. I just realized this as I was washing my dishes, and noticing how our family kitchen needs some cleaning, and how the dishes never seem to go away. Having no money, time, and living far from decent 'fast' foods is doing me some good! I miss FRESH foods... fresh fish, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, etc. I miss FRESH FILIPINO FOODS! =D

So far, I've successfully learned how to cook my favorite Filipino foods like pork sinigang, pork sisig, chicken adobo, pansit, kare-kare, menudo, etc. I also learned and mastered how to cook different types of PASTAS! But I also want to learn more, so I'm hoping that next year or whenever God will allow me, I will be able to take culinary arts. For me, food is indeed such a simple, yet powerful way to treat yourself well!

Now, I would like to share one of my FAVORITE experiments. I call this pasta, "GABSPAG" or GABRIEL'S SPAGHETTI. HAHA. I named it after my little brother, and the reason for that was because I wanted him to try something else other than eating EGG and RICE all the time! YIKES! I hope you guys like it. Here we go...

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

What you need:

ANY PASTA OF YOUR CHOICE but (1lb) SPAGHETTI will be the best for this dish!
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1tsp all purpose seasonings
1/2 tsp of parsley flakes
1 regular size bell peppers (any color of your choice)
1 can of SPAM (cut into small cubes)
4 oz. or 113g of sliced mushrooms

Note: All ingredients are my brother's favorites. You may also add BROCCOLI to add more vegetables! This pasta can also work with white sauce or alfredo sauce that you can buy in the grocery stores. =D

How to cook it:

1. In a large pot, bring 3 qts salted water to boil. Add spaghetti to boiling water and cook according to package directions.

2. In medium skillet, heat oil. Add garlic and bell peppers. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, just until garlic starts to turn golden, 1 to 2 mins.

3. Add SPAM. Saute for 2 minutes and add sliced mushrooms, all purpose seasonings and parsley, stirring gently just to heat through. Keep warm.

4. Drain spaghetti, reserving at least 1/2 cup cooking water. Return spaghetti to pot. Over low heat, stir in with the rest of the ingredients and enough cooking water, 1 tbsp at a time, just to coat spaghetti.

If you have any question or suggestion regarding this, please feel free to let me know. I would love to hear it! Thank you for reading and God Bless!

-Glenda