Fideo killed the radio star
The food blogosphere seems to be totally about cookies right now. I get it because I’ve been busy baking my own but right now I don’t feel compelled to contribute to the glut of cookie recipes. Instead I’ll offer you something quick, easy, economical, and deeply satisfying.
According to Wikipedia, fideo is the spanish word for a noodle of any type. I picked up a bag of fideo in the Mexican food section of Woodman’s and after checking out what the interwebs said about it, I decided to strike out on my own. I wanted a quick, easy dinner that everyone would eat and that wouldn’t turn the kitchen into a disaster area. My efforts yielded exactly that. Sure, it wasn’t very pretty, but it did have a robust spicy flavor, a comforting texture, and molten cheese….mmmm, molten cheese. I couldn’t help but think of it as the mostly organic, homemade version of hamburger helper. From start to finish it took less than 30 minutes, one pan, and no leftovers. What’s not to love?
Spicy fideos with ground beef and black beans
Click here for the printer-friendly version
1 pack age of fideos
1 pound ground beef
1 onion diced
¼ cup Penzeys spicy taco seasoning
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup water
1 jar canned tomato puree
1 can black beans drained
8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
Brown the ground beef in the skillet. Drain it if necessary. Add the onion and let it cook for a few minutes. Add the fideos and stir to combine. Add the seasonings, water and tomatoes and stir to mix it up. Let this bubble and cook for 10 minutes. The liquid should be mostly absorbed by the fideos. Add the black beans. Preheat the oven to broil. Top the fideos with the cheese and stick the pan under the broiler to melt and brown the cheese. Serve with a salad alongside.
Video Killed The Radio Star, The Buggles - 1979
8 Responses to “Fideo killed the radio star”
1 Meg 19 December 2007 @ 7:45 pm
This sounds really good, Vanessa. If I were to sub broken up vermicelli, how much would I use? 6 oz or so?
2 Peter 19 December 2007 @ 8:03 pm
Ahh the Buggles, a one hit wonder but I do still hear the tune at some bars.
Fideo, interesting as Vermicelli (in nests) are called “Fee-Thai” in Greek.
You’ve got some good tex-mex flavours there, I’d devour that!
3 vanessa 19 December 2007 @ 8:08 pm
Meg, I think it would be either 6 or 8 oz. Split the difference and go with 7. Thanks for reading.
Peter, GH reminded me that “Video was one of the first videos on MTV when they started…back in the old days when they actually played music. Thanks for reading.
4 Peter 20 December 2007 @ 5:33 pm
Vanessa, I believe it was actually MTV’s first video played on their programming.
Gimme more 99 Luftbaloons! lol
5 Andy 21 December 2007 @ 10:17 am
looks great!
totally off subject, but if you haven’t already, pick up an Isthmus to read a great article on Gail Ambrosius and her chocolates!
Hope you and your family have a nice Christmas!!
6 Barb 22 December 2007 @ 10:20 am
This is a great quick, easy recipe for a weeknight. I made it a few nights ago. I added garlic and used broken whole wheat spaghetti instead of fideo. My family loved it, and the leftovers were perfect for taking to work.
Thanks, Vanessa! Keep your great ideas coming!
7 Katie 23 December 2007 @ 2:51 pm
They even make a paella with fideo instead of rice - kind of like what you just did….
Looks, sounds yummy! I’ll have mine with the molten cheese, please….
8 Ros 1 January 2008 @ 3:45 pm
Hooray! Cheese on Mexican noodles and then even more cheese in the form of cheesy 80s pop. Could it get any better?
Leave a Reply