Gettin' Sauced!

Once you have made Oodles of Noodles, you’ll need some sauce to go with it!  I love, love, LOVE this Bolognese recipe and it freezes really well.  I generally make two pots of it side by side, and then freeze it in containers for two, or four people.   In my noodle post, I said that it’s totally worth making homemade noodles (any night of the week) especially when you have some delicious sauce already in the freezer.

I’m just going to direct you to the blog where this recipe came from, since the pictures are divine, and I want this woman to have full credit.  I am just a recipe stealer – and I am grateful for her post!  Who ever Pastor Ryan is – God bless him!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/ryans-bolognese-sauce/

For some reason – the first time I made this, it didn’t look all cooked down like it does in  Ree’s blog.  I wanted to have that kind of smooth texture, so the next time (and subsequent times thereafter) I did a quick chop of EVERYTHING in the food processor.  I pre-mince all the veggies before sautéing, and once the meat is cooked, I break it down further with a whirl through the processor.  Yes, it makes more work, and more dishes…but I’m a texture freak, so I have to do it.

Any meat would work with this sauce – so I use ground turkey.  It makes me feel a little healthier.  I can’t wait to make this in the summer with fresh tomatoes, basil, carrots and garlic!  Yum!

This sauce also works well meatless, and I’ve made it that way a few times.  My husband loves meatballs (is this just a guy thing?) so I’ve started making turkey-sausage meatballs and freezing them ahead, to go with the sauce.  For working people, it’s so awesome to have meals in the freezer ready to go – I don’t know why I didn’t learn this sooner!  I have also adapted this recipe to make pizza sauce – more on that later.

My other new favorite recipe is for clam sauce – if you can even call it sauce.  It’s like a delicious coating of goodness that wraps itself around noodles.  Ooohhh, I love it!

This recipe came from:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-clam-sauce/   (for original recipe)

It has become a weekend staple.  It’s easy, and it’s sooooo delicious.  I have made a few alterations to it.

Recipe:

1 chopped onion

6 -9 cloves of garlic (we LOVE garlic)

3 TB olive oil

2 cans of minced clams, and their juice

1 package of mushrooms (the blue Styrofoam kind)

¼ cup of butter

¼ cup of white wine

salt & pepper to taste (we like a lot of pepper)

chopped parsley

If making noodles – I make the dough, and let it rest while I prepare the sauce.

In a large skillet, sauté the mushrooms (dry – no oil) until browned.  Remove and set aside.  I do this to make sure I don’t end up with creepy brown sauce from the mushroom liquid.  I also prefer to leave the mushrooms firm, not cooked down to slippery versions of their raw form.

Next, sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil until they are soft.  Add the clams and juice, butter, wine, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes until it the sauce reduces and thickens a bit.  *It doesn’t get super thick, so don’t over simmer, or worry.

While the sauce is simmering, I cut and boil the noodles.  I boil them until they are al dente, then drain them and add them to the skillet of sauce.  (Oh yeah, don't forget to throw in the mushrooms!) I let it all simmer together for a few minutes.  The starch from the noodles thickens up the sauce that last little bit that makes it just perfect.

 Serve with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and top with Parmesan.  Mmm-mmm, Good!