Quick Bolognese Sauce

Quick Bolognese Sauce

Last night was cheat night and since yesterday was a snowy day, when we got lots done around the house, I promised my hubby and little girl, a quiet and cozy  night at home with a stellar homemade meal.

The centerpiece?  Homemade bolognese sauce.  I didn't have 2-3 hours to simmer a traditional sauce but I found this awesome "quick sauce" recipe and it came out fantastic.

What is Bolognese you ask? 

Bolognese sauce (Italian: ragù alla bolognese) is a meat-based sauce for pasta originating in Bologna, Italy. It is traditionally used to dress tagliatelle and is one of the two sauces used to prepare "lasagne alla Bolognese". Bolognese sauce is sometimes taken to be a tomato sauce, but many recipes have only a small amount of tomato concentrate.

I also read once that bolognese is "not a tomato sauce with meat in it BUT a meat sauce with tomatoes in it"  Excellent description

What I loved about making the sauce the most?  Rob and Diana were milling around and Under The Tuscan Sun was on at the same time (how appropriate?).....After dinner, we settled in to watch Toy Story and as I looked around....all three of us were snuggled on the couch and I asked Rob "does it get any better than this?" He said, "no...this is the jackpot."  Amen

Here is the recipe I used (it got 5 stars from my fam)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pound(s) ground meat for meat loaf (beef, pork, and veal)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large stalk celery, chopped
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup(s) tomato paste
• 1/2 cup(s) dry red wine
• 1 can(s) (28 ounces) whole tomatoes in puree
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup(s) whole milk

Directions

1. Heat 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven over high heat until hot. Add ground meat, onion, celery, and carrot, and cook 10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, breaking up meat with side of spoon. Drain off fat. Stir in tomato paste; cook 2 minutes.
2. Add red wine and cook 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; heat to boiling, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir milk into sauce; cover and simmer 5 minutes. Use half of sauce to toss with 1 pound pasta, cooked, for 6 main-dish servings. If you like, spoon remaining sauce into freezer-weight storage containers and freeze up to 3 months

Linking Up with Karen at Pocket Full of Pink