Date Night Dinners - Bolognese

1/09/2015 tringel 0 Comments

It's that time of year, when the crockpot comes out and I fall in love all over again. With the astonishingly cold temperatures, my motivation has been - to say the least - lacking. I am used toeing cold all the time, I can normally handle it. But, with the weather averaging between the low teens and single digits, I am having a hard time. Thus, if an activity doesn't involve me wrapped from head to toe in a blanket with my favorite slippers on, I am most likely not doing it.



So, we crockpotted. If ever in need of a pick me up, turn to the crockpot. It is truly magical. Our crockpot dinner warmed me up and got me moving...for a few minutes. But what is better than a Crockpot Food? I know, I know... Crockpot Comfort Food. Tell me more... Crockpot Comfort Food that will last us weeks. Mystery lunches will be no more. I think yes! And so did Brenden. Actually, the meal was his idea. What is it you ask. Crockpot bolognese sauce or in layman's terms, meaty pasta sauce. Yum, are you excited yet?!

Unfortunately a certain someone (I will give you one guess) didn't quite read the recipe past the ingredients before we chose it, and it was a bit more work then just throwing everything in the crockpot in the morning and then jumping back into bed or going on with our day as we usually do. On the plus side, the extra few minutes of cooking warmed up the kitchen, giving the apartment a little extra heat as my poor heat pump tried to keep up. I'll take a little extra warmth anytime.

We prepped the veggies and added them to a pan with the seasonings, so they would get nice and tender. Then we added the tomato paste and wine (mmm, now we are talking). It was already smelling so good; too bad we would have to wait another 8 hours. We combined our prepared veggies with the rest of the ingredients in the crockpot and set out to wait as we went about our day.


By the time we got home the meat sauce was just about done and the whole apartment smelled amazing. We boiled some water and cooked up our noodles at the last minute, as we drooled over the sauce that awaited us. At long last we were ready to eat, and that we did. It was really filling. It was really warm. It was really delicious. We wanted to keep eating and eating but our stomachs were full.

We got a ton of sauce out of this recipe. It looked as if we hadn't even touched the sauce, which was perfect for us to eat for dinner, prepare a few lunches bring to work, and give us enough to freeze half for another week's worth of lunches or dinners when pressed for time in the future.

Crockpot Bolognese Sauce with Noodles
Recipe adapted from m.cookingchanneltv.com, Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp oliveoil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• Two 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 lb ground turkey
• Pasta, as desired for serving

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. 
2. Add the garlic, carrots, celery and onions and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the onions begin to brown.
4. Add the tomato paste, thyme, and nutmeg.
5. Continue cooking about 3 minutes until the vegetables have softened.
6. Deglaze with the wine, pulling up any bits from the bottom of the pan.
7. Transfer the vegetable/wine mixture to the crockpot.
8. Stir in the cream and tomatoes.
9. In a separate, large bowl, mix together the chicken and turkey until combined.
10. Stir the meat into the sauce in the flow cooker. Note: Use a spoon to spread the meat evenly and turn large clumps into small pieces.
11. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours, or until meat is fully cooked.
12. Just before your sauce is done, cook pasta as instructed on package.
13. Scoop heaping spoonfuls of the meat sauce on top of your cooked spaghetti and enjoy. 

As always with any pasta and meatsuace, add some shredded mozzarella cheese and/or crusty bread to make this dish taste even better.