Beautiful Bolognese

I knew exactly what I was going to make for Christmas dinner when my coworker Krista mentioned lasagna rolls that her mom made the night before. They sounded heavenly. And easy! And like something you could make in advance.

So I went searching for an easy recipe online and stumbled across Giada's recipe (yes, in this house we're on a first name basis with Giada). What could be more perfect? Spinach AND prosciutto. Heaven! When I saw marinara sauce in the recipe I knew I'd want to make something more than just a jarred sauce.

So I went to the place I knew I'd find great recipes. The Pioneer Woman. Everyone in the cooking blogosphere talks and raves about her. There are recipes galore that have been tested by just about every cooking blog I read from her site so I knew I could trust her. And I didn't even do a practice run.

The sauce was perfect for these lasagna rolls! And I can't wait to make it again for spaghetti night. The only thing I changed was switching out the ground beef for italian sausage.

My only regret? Not getting a shot of this sauce bubbling on the stove. I thought about it the whole 4 hours it was simmering on the stove but had so much to do in between that I didn't have a moment to stop and take a shot. It was lovely! Looked EXACTLY like the picture in the link below.

And there was only about 1/8 of an inch of room left in the dutch oven. I was sooo worried it'd boil over and we'd lose some deliciousness. Thankfully that didn't happen and all of the sauce was used up.

Source: Pioneer Woman



Bolognese Sauce

• 1/2cups olive oil
• 1 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 1 whole red onion, diced
• 2 pounds ground Italian sausage
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 to 2 cups red wine (plus more for drinking)
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire
• 2 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add grated carrots and onions and cook for a few minutes. Make a well in the center of the mixture, and then add in the ground sausage. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture.

Throw in oregano and basil. Use fresh if you have it; if you don’t, it’s fine. When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat. Add garlic and stir to combine.

Make a well in the center of the mixture and add red wine. Stir together. Add Worcestershire and stir. Add canned tomatoes. Finally, pour in milk, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours—however long you need.

Serve with pasta and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Saucy Changes

I've made a few changes to my homemade meat sauce and I'm liking it! The sausage gives it so much more flavor than the ground beef I normally use. And I'm trying to experiment with fresh vs. frozen/dried ingredients. So far this mix that I've been using has been giving excellent results. And I apologize in advance for the crappy picture... I took it with my camera phone because both cameras (SLR & point and shoot) had dead batteries :(

Source: My head



Meat Sauce (perfect for any pasta!)

• 1/2 lb ground pork sausage
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can large whole olives
• 2 cubes frozen garlic (Trader Joes... in the freezer section)
• 2 cubes frozen basil (Trader Joes... same place as the garlic. They also carry cilantro!)
• 1 tbsp dried italian seasoning
• 1 tsp ground oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Brown meat & drain.

Mix all other ingredients in a pot, stir and set to medium low until meat is done. Add meat and let simmer for 30 minutes on low.

Toss with your favorite pasta and serve!

You can also toss, place in a oven-safe dish, top with cheese and bake for a baked pasta. YUM!

Pesto Perfecto!

I <3 pesto! It's so yummy and versatile. I was having some friends over for Womens Club and needed something simple and easy so I decided to go with salmon. I decided to go with the Pan Seared Salmon with Basil-Dijon Cream Sauce and added a pesto sauce to replace the cream sauce. It was soooo good! Too bad only two of us liked salmon :( But the other girls did enjoy the pesto!

Source: The Joy of Cooking (for the pesto)

Pan Seared Salmon with Pesto Sauce

• Large Salmon Fillet
• S & P
• 1/2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning blend
• 2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a food processor, pulse basil, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese together while adding olive oil slowly in the top until well blended and smooth. Set aside.



Season both sides of salmon fillets with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.



Heat saute pan over medium-high heat. Lightly coat with non-stick cooking spray. Place salmon (top-side down) onto center of pan and cook until slightly brown (2-3 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-low.



Using a large spatula, flip salmon over, cover pan, and continue cooking until internal temperature reaches about 140 degrees, 4-5 minutes. Uncover and remove from heat. Transfer salmon to a plate and drizzle pesto sauce over fish.



Pesto serves 10, 4 WW points per serving

Simple, Creamy, Yummy Sauce

I want to start out by saying that I was too lazy to get out my Nikon tonight... So I used the click and shoot. Not the best pictures but definitely a blog worthy meal. Not only because it was tasty but because it was so simple! 5 ingredients simple (not including pasta and veggies).

I found this recipe while lurking on one of the Weight Watchers boards. These girls know every trick in the book to make low-fat/healthy ingredients into great meals!

Source: Weight Watchers message board (many girls posted this recipe so I am not sure who the "original" source is)

Laughing Cow Alfredo (with Broccoli)

• 3 wedges of your favorite Laughing Cow (I used garlic and herb)
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
  
• 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (I used Romano)
• 1/2 Tbsp Margarine (I used ICBINB Light)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Put all ingredients in a small sauce pan and set on low. Cook for 20 minutes or until creamy and smooth. I suggest that you stir the sauce for most of this time.

Boil some water for your favorite pasta (I used whole wheat organic spaghetti) and cook pasta as directed on the package.

Once the sauce and pasta are done add some broccoli florets (or any other veggie you want to add... I think mushrooms might be nice too) to the sauce and than top with the hot pasta. Stir and serve.

Makes 2 servings of sauce
2 WW points per serving (only includes the sauce)