I love my volunteer job cooking for The Dinner Bell and feeding hungry people. It’s great because we often get donations of food and sometimes that can be a challenge. This time of year we get a lot of spaghetti squash. Besides the obvious, we try to come up with other inventive ways to serve the vegetable. Last week we made a version that is a play on a classic Mexican dish.

Fideo con Pollo is a lovely rustic chicken stew made with a Mexican pasta.

The following recipe assumes the use of spaghetti squash, but double the sauce and broth and use 14 ozs. dried broken vermicelli pasta instead and you’ll have a close version of the original stew.

Spaghetti Squash con Pollo
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 c. chicken broth
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 spaghetti squash, baked and flaked with a fork
3 green onions, both white and green parts, sliced

Heat oil in large deep skillet over medium high heat. Add onions, garlic, and bay leaf and cook until onions begin to soften and slightly brown.

Add dried spices to onion mixture and stir to combine, cooking for a couple minutes. Add chicken pieces and stir to coat thoroughly with spice and onion mixture. Cook for a few minutes.

Pour the broth and tomato sauce (or Rotel tomatoes) into the pan, stir to combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover with a lid, simmering for about 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and liquid has reduced to a thick sauce.

Add spaghetti squash and garnish with sliced green onions and serve.

If you want to use vermicelli (or angel-hair pasta), add the noodles along with double the sauce and broth. The sauce will thicken as the noodles cook.

Our version with the spaghetti squash was a huge success. Many people came for seconds and one mother said her son, who was about 6 years old, loved it. She said she had never seen him eat and enjoy anything with vegetables. I like volunteering, but moments like that make me really feel good.