It’s still been important for me to keep cooking as long as we feel like it, even just a couple days each week. I have a feeling that with the move, hospital stay, and first while at home after the baby that there won’t be many home cooked meals. So might as well keep at it while we can! I do hope to get back into cooking dinner and maybe planning some meals in advance eventually.
(pardon the iPhone photos on this post)
For Oscar Sunday, we always cook dinner in and always watch the show. It’s Jeffrey’s favorite awards show! We picked another Ina Garten recipe from one of her cookbooks and made a couple of substitutions–we used ground turkey instead of ground sirloin, and we used 2% milk instead of buying cream just to throw the rest out. We also used a box of fusilli pasta I had in the pantry instead of buying another new box.
And served with a simple salad of fresh vegetables.
We reallly liked this recipe–Jeffrey especially. It was basically pasta with meat sauce, but the sauce was very flavorful and rich from the red wine used. It was also pretty simple–the meat and sauce cook in the same pan, and the noodles are added in when cooked.
And Jeffrey came up with a funny rhyme I wanted to share–”Tomato paste, what a waste.” The recipe called for 2T and then the rest of the can is wasted. I need to find a squeeze tube and see how long those will last.
Don’t let the “bolognese” name scare you, it was just pasta with meat sauce.
Pasta Bolognese
Recipe by Ina Garten
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons good olive oil, plus extra to cook the pasta
- 1 pound lean ground sirloin (we subbed 85% lean ground turkey)
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1¼ cups dry red wine, divided
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ pound dried pasta, such as orecchiette or small shells (we used fusilli)
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
- ¼ cup heavy cream (we subbed milk we already have)
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat and cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and has started to brown.
- Stir in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more minute.
- Pour 1 cup of the wine into the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1½ teaspoons pepper, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, a splash of oil, and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the box.
- While the pasta cooks, finish the sauce. Add the nutmeg, basil, cream, and the remaining ¼ cup wine to the sauce and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain and pour into a large serving bowl. Add the sauce and ½ cup Parmesan and toss well. Serve hot with Parmesan on the side.
- 2 tablespoons good olive oil, plus extra to cook the pasta
- 1 pound lean ground sirloin (we subbed 85% lean ground turkey)
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1¼ cups dry red wine, divided
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ pound dried pasta, such as orecchiette or small shells (we used fusilli)
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
- ¼ cup heavy cream (we subbed milk we already have)
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat and cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and has started to brown.
- Stir in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more minute.
- Pour 1 cup of the wine into the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1½ teaspoons pepper, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, a splash of oil, and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the box.
- While the pasta cooks, finish the sauce. Add the nutmeg, basil, cream, and the remaining ¼ cup wine to the sauce and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain and pour into a large serving bowl. Add the sauce and ½ cup Parmesan and toss well. Serve hot with Parmesan on the side.
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