Friday, August 15, 2014

Quick Pasta with Ragu

Quick Pasta with Ragu
Missy Tippens


I'm a nut about Food Network. I have the app on my phone and iPad. I visit the website on my computer several times a week and print recipes. And I watch the shows a good bit on the weekend mornings. (Should I admit that it sometimes makes me late for Sunday School??!)

I have a Recipe Box on my apps and website where I save recipes. I think it's very telling that most of my saved recipes are in the "Pasta" category. :) Plus, the word "Quick" in this one got my attention. You know how I love easy recipes!

Today, I thought I'd share Fettuccine with Quick Ragu (click here to see the original recipe). Here's my edited version:

½ onion, quartered
1 stalk celery (I left this out or my family would go on strike)
1 small carrot, quartered
1 clove garlic (I used the jarred, chopped stuff)
½ tsp fresh rosemary (I used dried Italian seasoning)
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
½ cup whole milk
12 ounces pasta noodles, I used spaghetti
fresh parmesan

Put the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and rosemary in food processor and pulse unit finely chopped.



Then sauté the vegetables in the heated oil until softened, about 3-5 minutes.


Add the beef, salt and pepper and cook until no longer pink. In addition to the salt and pepper, I added a bit of my new spice mix from Penzey's.


Once the meat is done, add the tomatoes and milk. The recipe says to add 1 cup of water as well, but I only added about a ½ cup. It also says to add more salt, but I left that out since I'd added a few sprinkles of the Italian dressing mix.


Let the sauce simmer about 20 minutes, and cook noodles while your'e waiting. My sauce turned out looking very different from the photo at Food Network. I don't know why. Mine looked like a creamy vodka sauce.

It was very tasty! But this is the last photo I took since we dove in eating. :)


www.missytippens.com

P.S. If I shared this already, please forgive me. I'm just excited that I got my author copies for The Guy Next Door!



17 comments:

  1. Oh, this looks good! I just made home made pasta sauce tonight with tomatoes from the garden. I think I needed a recipe. I kept fiddling and fiddling. Maybe I've been spoiled with the mild acidity of canned tomatoes, but these seemed soooo acidic.
    Happy book release! I think we're book month buddies... I'm pretty sure. October? I'd have to check my box...

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    1. Yes, we're book month buddies! We need to do some promotion together.

      You know, I've never made sauce from fresh tomatoes. But I've heard to add a little sugar to cut the acidity. I also wonder if scalding and removing the skin would help (although that's a lot of extra work)??

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    2. I have one of those great food grinders that separates the skin and seeds from the tomatoes. We used to can all of our own sauce back in the day.... It's a great machine, but for small batches, blanching and peeling is really easy. Unless you have no time, in which case I understand completely, LOL!

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  2. No, you did not share that pic, Missy. This is the first I've seen your cover and it's GORGEOUS! Can't wait to read it.

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    1. Thanks, Mindy! They did it EXACTLY like I described in the art fact sheet. :)

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  3. This looks like a spaghetti sauce my family would love! And I'd put in the celery - whirl it through the food processor a few times and no one will notice :)

    And yes, gorgeous cover! October is going to be a great book month!

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    1. Jan, you're so sneaky! LOL I'll have to remember that trick. :)

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  4. You know, it's chilly enough up here (and rainy) that I now have a pasta craving...sans the beef, of course. Thanks for the dinner suggestion.

    How exciting that you got your books!!!! Love that cover! So that means it will go on sale at Harlequin Sept 1, right? Totally can't wait. Lots of good 'chum' reads coming from Love Inspired lately. I have Mindy's and Tina's from my August order. Woot.

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    1. August.... September.... October.... And then in November Winnie Griggs has "Her Holiday Family".... and in December, I have "Her Holiday Family (contemporary)..." So a bunch of good reading months in a row! Go us!

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    2. Kav, I think you're right about the Hq site release date. I'm excited!

      Ruthy, we're going to have so much fun with those two titles. You and Winnie need to do some sort of promo together. :)

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  5. I love, love, love that cover! Missy, I need to try this recipe, but first, I want that book!

    :)

    So wonderful, my friend!

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    1. Thanks! They did a great job with it. Can't wait for you to read the fun scenes beside the campfire!! They're the fun kind to write. :)

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  6. Missy, that cover is amazing! A wonderful cover like that makes me want the printed version instead of the Kindle one.

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    1. Thanks, Donna! I too miss the covers in ebooks. I usually scroll back just so I can see them.

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  7. Gorgeous cover, Missy!!! I could eat while I read very easily. Or read while I eat.

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    1. LOL! Tina, for me it's read while I eat. What a shame that eating is the priority!

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