Monday, October 3, 2016

Beef and Mushroom Bolognese over Spaghetti Pasta

Yum

A bowl of comfort food made with lean ground beef, mushrooms, zucchini, carrots and spaghetti pasta is a budget friendly meal that can feed your family this fall. 

Sometimes as a Mom, I have to get sneaky.  My kids say they hate some vegetables.  Mushrooms are at the top of a very long list.  So I got sneaky and put a pound of mushrooms into a bolognese sauce that they gobbled up and never were the wiser.  ** Patting myself on the back**!   


The fact is mushrooms can mimic ground beef if you prepare it at the right texture.  I used my trusty food processor to make the prep on this dish even easier by chopping all my vegetables in it so they were nice and small.   There were no big pieces of veggies to interrupt the beef and the sauce on the pasta.  All I heard was slurping and happy forks at the table.  If they only knew all the vegetables like mushroom, zucchini and carrot that I actually had going on in the dish... they may not have been very happy with me. 



It's also a great way to lighten up a pasta dish and save on the need to spend more money on ground beef.  I like to use very lean beef to make the dish even more figure friendly.    This pasta was perfect and it gave me a little giggle being so sneaky.






Beef and Mushroom Bolognese over Spaghetti Pasta

by Curry and Comfort
Prep Time: 20
Cook Time: 45
serves  (6-8)
Ingredients
  • 1lb lean ground beef
  • 1lb button mushrooms
  • 1medium carrot (finely diced)
  • 2-3 carrots finely minced
  • 3-4 cloves garlic finely minced or grated
  • 1 large zucchini grated
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tsp dried basil
  • red chili flakes (to taste)
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1 (28oz) can whole stewed tomatoes
  • 1 (15oz) tomato puree
  • 1 cup starchy pasta water
  • tsp sugar (or to taste)
  • 1 cup of cream, half and half or milk
  • 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
  • spaghetti pasta cooked al dente
Instructions
1. Prepare vegetables by placing mushrooms in a food processor and pulsing until it's a coarse mince. Then do the same for carrots,onion and zucchini.
2. Next brown beef in a hot pot with a little canola oil. Once beef is browned add the minced mushrooms and brown with beef.
3. Then add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes with some salt and black pepper.
4. Next add the carrot and saute for another minute. Then add the zucchini and saute for another minute.
5. Add the seasoning of oregano, basil and red chili flakes.
6. Then add the stewed tomatoes and crush with a potato masher. Next add the crushed tomatoes and starchy pasta water. Cook for 30 minutes.
7. Finish off with milk and Parmesan cheese. Taste for salt and seasoning. Add half of the bolognese to the drain pasta in in a pot. Serve remaining bolognese at the table for guests to top pasta off.
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 Step by Step Directions:
Prepare vegetables by placing mushrooms in a food processor and pulsing until it's a coarse mince.  Then do the same for carrots,onion and zucchini. Next brown beef in a hot pot with a little canola oil.   Once beef is browned add the minced mushrooms and brown with beef.

Then add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes with some salt and black pepper.   Next add the carrot and saute for another minute.

Then add the zucchini and saute for another minute.   Add the seasoning of oregano, basil and red chili flakes. 
 Then add the stewed tomatoes and crush with a potato masher.  Next add the crushed tomatoes and starchy pasta water.  Cook for 30 minutes.

Finish off with milk and Parmesan cheese.  Taste for salt and seasoning.  Add half of the bolognese to the drain pasta in in a pot.  Serve remaining bolognese at the table for guests to top pasta off.







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