Spaghetti Bolognese with Turkey

Hello friends! I made this recipe back in October, but I waited a while to post this since this is the perfect winter comfort food! 

Here is what you need to make this tasty Turkey Spaghetti Bolognese dish (makes four servings):

• One large carrot
  
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 red pepper
• 1 white onion (or 1/2 large onion)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1.25 lbs lean ground turkey (can substitute ground beef or soy product)
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
• 13.5 oz whole wheat spaghetti
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Oregano (or any other spices that you want to add)
• White or black pepper
• Worcester sauce (for added flavor-not required)
• Vegetable broth
• Parmesan cheese (DUH!)

I started out by finely chopping up the veggies and garlic. There are many ingredients going into the sauce, and you don't want it to be too chunky (unless you like extra chunky sauce). 

Once the veggies are chopped, warm a pan and throw them in there. Poke them around for a good 15-20 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. 

Next, add your ground protein. I picked out Extra Lean Jennie-O Ground Turkey Breast. The extra-lean meat is a few extra dollars than the others, so it's really up to you whether you want to pick that one or not. 

Dump the contents into the pan and use your spatula to poke around at the meat. Turn the heat up a little and quickly break the meat apart. You know that you're done when it looks slightly brown and crumbly. This shouldn't take more than a few minutes. 

Next, add the tomato paste, the diced tomatoes, and a cup of water to lock in the moisture. Put the cover on your pot (you need to cover it with something) and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. 

While you're cooking your sauce, you can make the pasta. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box/bag. I use whole wheat pasta, but you can use anything that you like. 

Helllloooo spaghetti!

When you go back to your sauce, taste it and figure out what else it needs. My dad walked in the door just as I was finishing this up, and he added all sorts of goodies to add in flavor. We threw in mushrooms (we gave them enough time to cook), garlic powder, worcester sauce, white pepper, and vegetable broth. If you don't have vegetable broth, you may have to add more water so that your sauce doesn't get dry. 

Soon, we were ready to eat!  Of course, I added parmesan cheese. 

This was the first time that I ever cooked a real meal for my parents (pathetic, right??), and they loved it so much that they went up for seconds. I made it again last week with fusilli (short, spiral-shaped pasta), and they gobbled it up again. They are picky eaters, so I know that this dish is a keeper! 

This is also a great way to get your fix of veggies. If you have family members who don't like vegetables (or if you don't like them yourself), this is the way to sneak them into food. 

Happy Weekend, friends!