I Think Paul Would Approve

In my quest to clean out my fridge and pantry, I have been pretty good lately at using what I already have and tonight I had a frozen half pound of ground sirloin and a nice hunk of lettuce and a tomato. Needless to say, I like Paul's dressings and I must have 5 to 10 bottles of opened dressings taking up room in my door! Well, I decided to just combine them and mix them with another favorite, Wishbone French, so that's what I did. I hated throwing out the bottles, as I always felt a sense of comfort knowing I had so many Pauls in my fridge, but.......sigh.......

The dressing came out so good and I am determined not to buy any more until my new mixture is gone (now residing Paul lonely light Honey-Mustard bottle). In fact, I had the leftover salad for lunch and I love this combination of dressings, some light, some not, but I don't like a ton of dressing, and I also supplemented it with a few dashes of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, fresh pepper, YUM!

So, as far as the ground sirloin, I decided to make a recipe similar to how you would make Hamburger Helper. I had a cup of macaroni left, a wilted carrot, wilted celery, and 1/2 a wilted onion, half a can of tomato paste, 1/2 carton of questionable milk, 1/3 bottle of flat champagne, what else, well, you get the picture.....don't judge me.

I actually had made this recently and wrote it out, so I just made it again with a few adjustments:

This is the quick sauce, simmering away.

After about 30 minutes of simmering, added the cup of macaroni, salt, and more water. Cover and let simmer about 12 to 15 minutes, till nice and tender, stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan (freshly grated), and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Another turned-the-wrong-way picture.....grrr......sorry....anyway, nice and good dinner with leftovers ready for an easy Saturday night meal. Bake it this time in the toaster oven with a little olive oil and some extra cheese on top. How could you go wrong?

GRRR......



See how nice the dressing looks on the fresh lettuce and tomato, yes they were fresh. Paul would have loved this dinner I'll bet. Steve and I did.

Just turn your head again, sorry....

Here's my recipe for what I'm calling Stove Top Bolognese Sauce with Pasta

1/2 pound ground sirloin

2 strips thick bacon, sliced into strips

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 or 2 chopped celery stalks

1 peeled, chopped carrot

1 garlic clove, grated

2-3 T. tomato paste

1 cup beef broth or (bullion mixed with water)

1/3 - 1/2 cup Madeira, or other wine

1 cup milk

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

crushed red pepper flakes to taste

1 cup pasta, macaroni, penne, etc.

extra salt

1 cup water (or canned tomatoes) you need the sauce to be somewhat thin to absorb the pasta)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (fresh)

In skillet with lid, over medium heat, start to brown the beef and bacon, adding the onion, brown till fat is rendered from the bacon and meat is cooked, add in the carrots and celery, stir for about 5 minutes, add the garlic, stir 30 seconds, add the tomato paste, incorporate, then pour in wine and boil a little, a few minutes, till reduced a bit. Add in the broth, milk, give it a seasoning with salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Boil, then cover and simmer 15 to 30 minutes. Remove lid and add in one cup of water, and the macaroni. Boil, cover, and simmer 12 to 15 minutes, add the cheese, take off heat, and let sit with lid on for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with lettuce and tomato salad, with dressing of choice.

I hope you try my recipe sometime when you have to clean out your fridge.....