Renee McGrath, right, enjoys celebrating special occasions with family and friends.

Brian McGrath grew up a “solid meat and potatoes kind of eater” in the words of his wife Renee, with a heavy emphasis on “meat.”

“When I met him, he had trouble boiling water,” Renee recalls from their home in Penn Valley, California. It wasn’t long before Brian became Renee’s chief assistant in the kitchen, doing lots of chopping, grating and dicing.

“Brian’s love of cooking springs from having me as a partner who wants us to always share everything, which makes projects more fun. He has come a long way,” adds Renee, “and when I’m under the weather, he does quite well on his own now with just a little direction.”

But one recipe Brian won’t try tackling is “Sweet Pea’s Chillighetti,” an ambitious meal Renee created to include several of her hubby’s food favorites. “My goal was to combine many flavors into one dish—three meats, like a real Italian meatloaf; salsa and other Mexican spices to give him his fast food fix; and spaghetti to serve it all on.”

Brian loved it. Fittingly, the recipe took the name of his nickname for Renee: “Sweet Pea.”

Sweet Pea’s Chilighetti

Renee writes, “This can be eaten as chili. Good with cornbread. This can also be served over spaghetti—thus Chilighetti—this is our favorite way.”

• 1 TB. olive oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 1/2 tsp. MINCED GARLIC)
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 lb. ground pork or sausage
• 1 28 oz. jar red pasta sauce—any meatless flavor (or 1 28 oz. can tomato sauce plus 1 tsp. ITALIAN HERB MIX and 1/4 tsp. each GRANULATED GARLIC and FENNEL SEED, ground or whole)
• 1 Cup red wine
• 1 16 oz. jar salsa (or 1 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes plus 1/2 tsp. CUMIN)
• 2 TB. REGULAR CHILI POWDER
• 1 TB. GROUND CUMIN
• 11/2 tsp. TURKISH OREGANO
• 11/2 tsp. PENZEYS FRESHLY GROUND PEPPER
• 11/2 tsp. SHALLOT SALT
• 1/2 tsp. THYME
• 1 tsp. GROUND CHIPOTLE
• 3 BAY LEAVES
• 1 lb. freshly cooked pasta

Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a stock pot. If using MINCED GARLIC, cover with 2 TB. water and let stand while cooking the onions. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes just to soften. Then toss in the garlic and stir. Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the meat—leave in chunks about the size of small meatballs—and brown. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour. As with most chili/red sauce dishes, the flavors are much better the next day (so you might want to make extra!). Remove and discard the BAY LEAVES before serving over freshly cooked pasta.

Nutritional Information: Servings 10;
Serving Size 1 1/4 cups (366g); Calories 450; Calories from fat 200; Total fat 22g; Cholesterol 100mg; Sodium 1000mg; Carbohydrate 28g; Dietary Fiber 3g.