Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Easy Meat Sauce

Here's an easy meal that we have at least once a week in my house. I like it because I always have the ingredients on hand, it's healthy and I can whip it up in about 20 minutes, although the sauce tastes better the longer you let it simmer. I guess it depends how hungry you are. Beware, this is a very thick sauce, my husband has no tolerance for runny marinara.

1 lb of ground turkey
Olive Oil
1 lb wheat pasta (our favorite are the bow-ties)
2 tsp crushed garlic (about 2 cloves)
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cracked fennel
salt & pepper

Optional ingredients: sliced mushrooms, diced onion and/or diced red or green peppers, red wine.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Heat olive oil, about 2 tbsps. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add turkey and cook until no longer pink, season with salt and pepper. If adding any onions, mushrooms or peppers, add now and cook until tender.

Season meat with oregano, basil, crushed red pepper and fennel.

Add can of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste to meat. Add a splash or two of good red wine if you have some on hand. Let meat sauce simmer for as long as possible. Serve over cooked pasta and sprinkle with parm cheese.

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