Circue - that sounds really yummy.

GD - would you care to share the recipe? I don't have a homemade meat sauce recipe of my own.

This was the simplest version I make, though I tried a new twist that I think helped a lot.

1 lbs ground beef (the leaner the better).
5 spicy italian sausages, casing removed
2 15oz cans diced tomatoes (preferably no salt added)
1 can tomato sauce (again, I prefer no salt added)
1 can tomato paste
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 Tblsp garlic
salt, pepper, Italian seasoning

Saute garlic and onions with some salt and pepper in a large skillet (5qt is about right). Add beef and sausage and Italian seasoning (sorry, no measurements. But don't be shy, at least a couple Tbsp worth). Cook over medium high heat, breaking the sausage up, stirring regularly until meat is almost cooked through. Add the various cans of tomato products. Stir, heat to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer. Leave simmering, uncovered, for a couple hours.

Once the sauce has just begun to thicken, take it off the heat. Let sit for a while, until it's cooled to just about room temperature. Then turn the heat back on to low, get it back up to a simmer. 30-40 minutes before you want to serve, turn the heat up just a bit, you want a fast simmer, nearly a boil. Let it cook at that heat until it's starting to dry out. Don't stir, you actually want the bottom layer of it to burn just a little bit. Once you do get that little bit of burn at the bottom, turn off the heat, give it a good stir, and serve.

And of course, taste it along the way and add salt, pepper, or seasoning as needed.

ETA: oh yeah, you can also throw some red pepper flakes in when you're sauteing the garlic and onion. 1/2 tsp will give it a little kick, go up from there to your desire.

sounds delish! Thanks. We may have to have that for dinner tonight. It's my last Monday off and we go back to full schedule at work so I'm home alone for the day. Cooking something on the stove a while seems and reading seems like a cozy afternoon.

So tonight I'm making parmesan panko chicken and I have some fresh fettucine that I need to figure out a sauce for. I can't decide what to do with the noodles, any ideas?

Well, simple butter herbs garlic and more cheese can't be bad!


<tummy grumbling>

I'm having a BLAT for dinner with cole slaw.

Ling Cod with Capers in a garlic butter sauce. Served with a loaded baked potato and green beans/snap peas.

I am now in love with panko crumbs. My god that was divine and I just ate another piece. I just went with an Alfredo sauce and added some roasted red pepper to jazz it up for the pasta. I really liked the flavor of the fresh pasta vs the dry stuff. To bad it's usually the dry stuff but I found a package of fresh marked down, so it was a nice treat for about the same price.

Panko Crumbs..??

Stir-fried brown rice with veggies. In a child-size portion. Yum!

Japanese Breadcrumbs :D They're the BEST for getting a really crispy coating / topping