My step mom was Italian and made the yummiest sauce ever. I told the story in my meatball post a while back. Go peek for a refresher if you like. Anyways, after failing to make her sauce right I decided that the best way to honor her tradition was to start my own tradition. So for a few years I searched to find what type of pasta sauce I liked best. After much tasting I decided I really liked bolognese sauce. I love the abundant meat and warm spices involved. After a bit more time I found a recipe I liked. Then I tweaked it and altered it to end up with what I have now. Here is the thing: I love sharing my recipes. I believe if I'm eating something yummy I should not guard it and keep it from everyone else. I want everyone to try it! Share the yummy!! So with that intention I present: April's Bolognese Sauce Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 4 ounces bacon diced 3 cups chopped yellow onions 2 cups diced carrots 2 cup diced celery 2 tablespoon minced garlic OR 1 tablespoon garlic powder 2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 4 bay leaves 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 3 pounds ground beef Little can tomato paste 2 big cans crushed tomatoes and their juice 1 big can tomato sauce 1 box beef or chicken stock or broth First prep all your ingredients. I buzz the veggies through my food processor because 1) I do not care to do all that chopping and 2) I want the veggies really small so they disappear into the sauce. You do whatever makes you happy. Portion all the spices into a bowl. Also open all of your cans and the box of stock. You want to be ready to go. Things move fast in the beginning. Let's cook! In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until browned and the fat is rendered, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. This smells amazing. Add the beef and cook, stirring, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the stock and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan and remove any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the pan, about 2 min. Add the tomatoes and their juices, the tomato sauce, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, to keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the sauce is thickened and flavorful, about 3 hours. Discard the bay leaves and adjust the seasoning, to taste. This is what you end up with. It tastes good the day you cook it, but a LOT better the next day! It's great served with a dollop of ricotta. Or in a lasagna. Or with fresh gnocchi. You really can't go wrong.
Unfortunately I did not get a picture of my plate when I ate it. I was starving. I kind of just inhaled it. I made fresh ricotta gnocchi and it was devine. Enjoy!!
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So the world is a hot mess. My friends list on Facebook is a divided, angry hot mess. War and pain and terror are running rampant. So guys, let's pause. Take a moment and breathe. I want to start something good. We need some good right now.
I challenge everyone who reads this to do a random act of kindness for a stranger within the next 24 hours. Buy someone coffee, encourage a mom in the store whose kid is a screaming puddle. Give a sandwich to a homeless person. The list can go on. See what opportunity presents itself and jump on it. Be light. Be love. Then please comment and tell me what you did. Fill everyone with hope. And please share this post so others will do it too. I want to see so much love you guys. Be the light. Will you join me? The other day Trinity was off of school but Caleb still had school. So while my Velcro Caleb critter was running amok at school for a few hours, I decided to spend some time with Trinity. We decided to go to IHOP for breakfast. It was glorious. Trinity and I were able to hang out and have a great time. The baby was there, but she's so easy that she's no trouble at all. Just as I was polishing off my German pancakes, eggs, hash browns and bacon (shut up. I'm nursing and hungry) I realize the baby is going to need to nurse soon. In a flash I realize that I am not dressed correctly to nurse this baby in the restaurant. I ran out the door in a frenzy to get Caleb to school in a nursing tank and a fitted zip up hoodie. So to nurse her I would have to unzip the hoodie and unclip the tank top to reveal my entire boob. ...that's not really my gig. You see, there are 4 different kind of nursing moms. The great thing is that they are ALL good. They are all right! Just because I don't pull my whole boob out to nurse doesn't mean you shouldn't. If that's how you do it, go ahead! No judgement at all from me. I am a huge advocate for the right to publicly breastfeed any time, anywhere, in any fashion. Seriously... feed the babies! Let's check these mommas out: 1) The Sneaky Momma This mom will not nurse anywhere in front of anyone. If she is out in public she will go to her car, a bathroom or a nursing room. If she is home and company is over she will go to a bedroom. The baby is happy and chubby so we all know he is being fed, but no one has ever seen it. New mommies are usually in this group since they are still figuring it all out. Seriously, with newborns they can't find the nipple, milk goes everywhere...it's a hot mess. Sometimes it your own personal modesty that puts you in this group. 2) The Tented Momma This momma will nurse her baby anywhere, but does it with finesse under a cover. I'm always amazed at their ability to wrestle a curious baby under a cover and keep them there. My kids would wrestle like it was the WWF if I tried to put a blanket over them. They can be spotted anywhere smiling and nursing. They don't have to worry about accidental exposure at all due to the cover. That must be lovely. 3) The Ninja Stealthy and discreet, these mommas have mastered the art of nursing without a cover, yet do not expose themselves. This is my team. Usually there is some clothing layering involved so even the tummy is covered. Shirt goes up, boob comes out, and baby latches on covering the boob. Usually people just think you are holding the baby close and don't even realize what you are doing. I have some pretty amusing stories of freaking people out who realized what I was doing only after chatting with me for five minutes. These mommas will nurse anywhere at anytime because they are confident and can! 4) The Confident Momma These are up over the shirt breast feeders. The whole boob is out. Usually it's because baby doesn't like fabric around them, on top of them or near thier face. These mommas nurse everywhere at anytime and are awesome. So here I am at a restaurant and realizing that to nurse this baby I will have to essentially be a Confident Momma and whip my entire boob out. And unless this baby is completely freaked out, I don't want to do that. It's not that I'm afraid of offending the people in the restaurant, I frankly don't care what they think. I just personally like keeping my boobs to myself. Thankfully she was fine until we finished so I nursed her in the car. I giggled the whole time at how dumb I was. Trinity got a good laugh when she realized what I was wearing. Do any of you have funny nursing stories? Please share! |
AuthorI'm so tired. The children are so not tired. |