Bolognese Sauce...the Italian way!

 Here are a few helpful tips when 

cooking bolognese that will make this a 
“truly tasty Italian meal”

    1. This is slow food. Do not skip, or rush
 through the ingredients or the process. 

          2. Allow your sauce to cook very gently for 
several hours to deepen the flavors.

      3. Use bacon,  because it truly enhances the flavor

   4. Use the combo of ground meats.

I  use 1 lb beef. and 

1/2 lb Italian sausage

  5. Make sure your ground meats are finely 

 broken up as you brown them.

   6. Let the wine reduce by half

     6. Use Tagliatelle Noodles or fettuccine pasta- 

cook al dente- do not overcook

 7. The proper way to serve- is to toss 

the pasta with enough sauce to coat, 

then dish out and add more sauce to each serving. Sprinkle it with 
the cheese and chopped fresh parsley.

  8. Play a little Frank or Dino while cooking – 

with a big glass of Chianti of course!
10. Most of all,  enjoy the process. 

First, you'll need to get in the mood. Put on your bib

 apron because you're about to do some cooking!

Yes, and get out you Dean Martin CD or playlist.

Gather all the ingredients;
bacon  (or pancetta),

veggies,

chopped and ready,

Have all the herbs and spices measured and
ready to add.

Use your large heavy pot. Cook the bacon and remove.

Saute the vegetables in the bacon drippings.

Add the garlic.

I'm using ground beef and Italian sausage.

Brown the meat well. Add the seasonings.

Add the tomato paste.

Add the wine.

Add the reserved bacon, crumbled.

Add the tomatoes.

Simmer...

Add the butter, parsley, and cream.

Keep warm until ready to serve.

Bolognese Sauce
1-½ lbs ground beef, 
or (½ lb each beef, veal, sausage)
4 slices of bacon
1 T olive oil
1 large onion, (1-½ C chopped) 
2 carrots (¾ C diced) 
2 celery stalks (¾ C diced)
2 garlic cloves (1T diced)
1 t salt
 ½ t pepper
2 bay leaves
½ t thyme
½ t oregano
½ t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
2 T tomato paste
1 C red wine
28 oz can diced tomatoes
14 oz can tomato sauce
1 C beef broth
½ C cream
2 t sugar
2 T butter
1 lb fettuccine  pasta
3 T chopped fresh parsley
1 C Parmesan cheese
In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.
Add bacon and cook until browned, 4-5 minutes.
Remove the bacon to a plate and add the onions, 
carrots, and celery to the drippings. Cook until 

soft, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, and
nutmeg; stirring for 30 seconds to blend. Add
 the ground meat, breaking up to cook until 
browned, about 5  minutes. Add the tomato 
paste and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add the
 wine, stirring to deglaze the pan and remove any 
browned bit from the bottom of the pan. Reduce
 by half, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes,
 tomato sauce, beef broth, and sugar. Bring to 
a boil then reduce heat to medium low and 
simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened, 
about 1-½ hours. Stir in the cream, butter, 
and parsley. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the
 bay leaves, and adjust the seasoning to taste; add
 more salt if necessary. Remove from heat, cover pot 
and keep warm until ready to serve.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water 
to a boil and cook the pasta for 8-10 minutes. 
Serve with sauce and top with parmesan cheese 
and fresh parsley. 

Enjoy!

Linguini and White Clam Sauce

I always have a cans of clams in the house
for this favorite, easy, quick dinner.

It's a favorite of ours to order when we go out,
but it's just as good at home. You can add fresh
clams in the shells to the sauce to fancy it up,
but here's the quick version.
I usually have everything else I need.

  Basic pantry items; linguini, garlic,
parsley from my herb garden, olive oil,
butter, and wine

Chop the garlic and fresh parsley

 Saute the garlic with the salt in butter and
olive oil until tender and lightly golden.

 Add the clam broth, and white wine.
I also add a little chopped fresh oregano,
if I have it,  and a dash of Worcestershire
sauce. A lot of clam sauce recipes have
anchovies in them. W-sauce is a
good substitute.

Add the black pepper and red pepper
 flakes to taste, about 1/4t each.
Simmer for about 10  minutes.

 Stir in the chopped clams and fresh parsley.
Heat through.

Toss the sauce with the linguini, and give it a
spray of lemon juice. You can also just
 spoon the sauce over the pasta on your plate.

Here it is in a big serving bowl.

Garnish with parsley.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Linguini & White Clam Sauce

¼ C olive oil
¼ C butter
2 cloves garlic, minced, about 1T
½  t salt
¼ t  red pepper flakes
½  C white wine, about
2 7oz cans chopped clams, drain and reserve liquid
¼  C chopped fresh parsley
1 t chopped fresh oregano, optional
1 squirt (¼ t)  Worcestershire sauce, optional
12 oz. linguini, about 3/4 box, cooked
A spritz of lemon juice 
1. Start the water for the pasta in a large pot.
   Salt the water and cook the linguini for 10-12
   minutes.
         Meanwhile make the clam sauce.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet.
    Saute the chopped garlic, add the salt until
    lightly golden.
3. Drain the  the clams, reserving the liquid in a
    measuring cup.
4. Add enough white wine to equal 1-½ C liquid.
5. Add the liquid to the pan and simmer for 10
    minutes. Add the squirt of Worcestershire
    sauce and oregano, if using.
6. Add the chopped clams, red and black peppers.
7. Stir in the parsley and heat through.
    Spritz with lemon juice.
8. Toss with the linguini. Sprinkle with
    freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
                                             4 servings
A good crusty bread, salad  and the rest of the wine round out this dinner.

Enjoy!

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Between Naps On The Porch

Marsala Chicken

I love when I find a new recipe and then realize

 that I have all the ingredients. That's what

happened this week when I walked into Publix. 

 I picked up their weekly recipe card and read the

 list of ingredients. I already had the chicken 

thawing at home. I also had the rest of the 

ingredients too, right down to the marsala 

wine and balsamic glaze. Yes!

I originally bought the balsamic glaze to make a

caprese appetizer and am happy to find another

 use for this ingredient.

Larry sliced the onion and the chicken while 

I got the other ingredients ready and we had

a delicious dinner on the patio in less than

 30 minutes. Plus leftovers for another lunch

 or dinner later in the week.

  I used a little more than 1 lb. of chicken. 

Dredge the cutlets in seasoned flour and

 saute in olive oil and butter until golden.

Remove the chicken from the pan.

 Add the remaining oil and butter and saute 

the onions and mushrooms until tender.

 Add the broth, wine, and glaze.

 Return the chicken to the pan and cook until 

done and the sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley. 

Serve with pasta. I made the tomato spinach 

pasta. Spoon the extra sauce over the chicken. 

Marsala Chicken
2 boneless chicken breasts, about 1 lb
¼ C flour
1 t kosher salt, divided
½ t pepper
3 T olive oil divided
2 T butter, divided
1 C sliced onions
8 oz sliced baby portabellas
½ C marsala wine
½ C chicken stock (from a box)
2 T balsamic glaze
1 T chopped fresh parsley
1) Cut chicken breasts in half, then lay flat and
   slice horizontaly through center of chicken to
   make 4 cutlets.
2) Place flour, ½ t salt, ½ t pepper in shallow
    dish. coat  both sides of chicken, shaking
    off excess.
3) Heat large saucepan on MH and add 2 T oil and
   1 T butter. When hot and melted add the chicken
   and cook 2-3 minutes on each side until
   browned. Remove chicken from pan.
4) Reduce heat to M and add the remaining 1 T oil
   and 1 T butter. Stir in onions, mushrooms,
   remaining ½ t salt. Cook 6-7 minutes stirring
   occasionally until onions and mushrooms have
   softened.
5) Stir in the ½ C marsala, ½ C broth, and 2 T
    glaze. Then return the chicken to the pan.
    Simmer 2-3 min. until the sauce thickens
    and the chicken is cooked.
6) Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with
     pasta. Spoon the sauce over the chicken.

Tomato Spinach Pasta
3 C chicken stock (remainder from the box)
2 c water
12 oz linguini pasta
¼ C Parmesan cheese
4 oz goat or ricotta cheese (optional)
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
3 C baby spinach

Bring water and stock to a boil. Break pasta

in half and add. Stir and cook for 12-15 mins,

stirring occasionally until most of the liquid is

absorbed. 

 Stir in cheese until blended. Add

tomatoes and spinach. 

 Stir until spinach wilts.

The pasta is a nice side.  I'll use again because it

adds more vegetables and color to any dinner.

ENJOY!

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Between Naps On The Porch

Simple Tuna Noodle Casserole

I've got a great recipe for you today.

This is so easy to whip up and uses just

 4 ingredients:
1 can cream of mushroom soup 
1 can tuna 
 1 can evaporated milk
(I use cream when I'm home)
½ bag noodles.

Basic pantry supplies you always have on hand

 or on your "survival" shelves. Great for those 

emergency dinners. Storms or illness just call 

for homey comfort food. Plus, anyone in your 

family can make this; no culinary skills required! 

I love that it works in RVs, camping, boating, 

dorms, or a zombie apocalypse.  

Just add ½ bag of wide noodles to boiling salted 

water. While they are cooking for the 7 minutes,

open the cans of soup, tuna, and cream. I always 

use fresh cream  when I'm home, but you 

can also use a can of evaporated milk if the 

situation requires. I use only white tuna that's 

packed in water. 

After the noodles are tender, drain 

 and return them to the pot. Mix in the
soup and cream. I use the empty
soup can and fill about ¾ full with
 the cream. 

Scrape out all the soup-cream mixture.

Stir to combine everything. 

Add the drained tuna and stir gently to
break it up a bit.

 Now here is where you could just continue
 to heat it up and eat it out of the pot...
if the situation requires. 

But for a civilized dinner at home, pour it
into a 1-½ qt sprayed casserole.
You can also top this with crushed potato
chips like you did in HomeEc. 

Bale for 15-20 minutes @350º.

Serve with peas. I always serve tuna casserole 

with peas. There you go; simple, simple, simple. 

Of course it's creamy, yummy, homey, and 

comforting. You may want to double the recipe. 

Looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
My other Classic Tuna Casserole recipe has the
crunchy goodies, but again that requires just
a little more prep. Both recipes are
good ol' comfort food. 

§

Simple Tuna Casserole
½ bag noodles
1 can tuna, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 C of cream or evaporated milk
Cook the noodles, drain, & return to the pot.
Stir in the soup and cream until combined.
Add the tuna, stir to break up gently.
Pour into a sprayed 1-½ qt casserole.
Bake @350º for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy! 

Links: Between Naps On The Porch