Homemade Spaghetti and Turkey Bolognese!

I hadn't made homemade pasta in awhile, so a few weeks ago I busted out my trusty pasta maker and went to town! I made half a recipe of a simple egg dough, letting it rest for a few hours before rolling it out and cutting it into spaghetti.

 I usually serve my homemade pasta with a simple marinara or an olive oil based sauce, but this time I wanted to change things up and give turkey bolognese a try! I'd never made a bolognese  but I thought I could handle it! After looking at a few recipes, I decided on this yummy sounding one from Giada de Laurentiis.

Take a look below at the process of making both the pasta dough and the sauce.

The Pasta Goods:

Flour

Eggs

A lil Salt 

THAT'S IT!

Put flour in a big bowl and make a well. Crack the eggs and mix them in with a fork until dough is starting to come together. Continue to mix it a little longer by hand.

Then dump it onto a floured surface and go to town kneading. 

I kneaded the dough for about 5 minutes, give or take. 

The top shows what it should look like when you're done kneading.

Wrap it in plastic warp and let it rest for a few hours, or even a few days in the fridge!

Once you're ready to use the dough, cut into 4 pieces. Flour the top and form each piece into a flattened disk. Run the dough through the pasta machine and then cut into spaghetti.  

Now that the pasta is done, let me tell you all about the sauce!

The Bolognese Goods:

Ground Turkey
Crushed Tomatoes
Celery
Carrot
Onion
Garlic
Basil
Flat Leaf Parsley
Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Prep all your goods!

Heat a little olive oil, sauté your onions and garlic. Once onions are translucent, add the carrots and celery and cook a few minutes. Then add the ground turkey and cook completely. Finally, add the crushed tomatoes and fresh herbs. Stir everything to combine and simmer for about 30 minutes. 

Since I made fresh pasta, it only needs to cook for a few minutes. While that was cooking, I added fresh parmesan to the sauce. Toss the sauce with the pasta and save a little sauce to add on top. I served mine with homemade garlic bread and some oven roasted corn on the cob. 

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 17!

It's been FOREVER since I've done a Sunday Night Dinner post. I'm sorry for the absence and I HOPE post most in the near future!

I enjoyed a delicious piece of Salmon that was fresh AND wild caught! Such a treat and tastes so much better!! Along with the fish I had NEW brown and wild rice recipe. Look for a blog about the rice recipe soon!! And to finish off the meal I had some fresh, farm grown green beans that I blanched and then sauteed with a lil bacon. Yuuuuuuuuum! Sunday dinner was great and I look forward to sharing more of them with you soon!!! 

Vegetable Stock

I've made Chicken Stock COUNTLESS times, but it wasn't until yesterday that I decided I'd try to make some Vegetable Stock. After searching online, I quickly found a recipe that sounded great! It didn't seem too hard and I'd only have to modified it slightly, so I decided I'd give it a go and I'm really glad I did! I can't wait to use it tonight to make a new rice recipe for dinner. 

I really can't believe how simple it was to make. Take a look and then make some yourself. It's MUCH better than the boxed kind, I promise.  

The Goods:

Olive Oil

Carrots

Celery

Onion

Garlic

Tomato Paste

Fresh Rosemary

Fresh Sage

Bay Leaves

Peppercorns

Salt

Water

Heat the olive oil over high heat.

Throw in the chopped onions...

And the carrots...

And finally the celery!

Toss it around in the heated olive oil.

Let everything cook until it's browned. 

Not done yet - still browning!

Done! 

This took about 20-30 minutes, so be patient!

Throw in the garlic cloves and tomato paste.

Mix it around and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the herbs, bay leaves, peppercorn and a lil bit of salt.

Now time for TONS of water!

After the water is added, stir in the fresh Parsley.

Bring the stock to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Simmer for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, but not any longer.

Vegetable stock cooks A LOT faster than chicken stock!

Now the fun part!

Strain out all the goodies.

Now run the liquid through a fine strainer,

 so you don't miss any small bits.

See - you'll have missed some!

Now run it through one more time,

but this time, line it with a paper towel!

You'll end up with perfect homemade vegetable broth!

And LOTS of it for that matter!

I'm guessing there's maybe 10 cups total here, 

so be prepared for lots of stock!!

Homemade Soup: Minestrone!

• I used to love Minestrone soup - especially the Olive Garden version with the little shell pasta. I remember how tasty it was, and was craving it recently, so I decided to try to make my own version of Minestrone soup!

After looking at a few recipes online, I decided I didn't like ANY of them completely and I just did my own thing! I think it turned out quite well, but I may do a few things just a little differently next time. 

The Goods:

• (NOTE - Garlic was forgotten in photograph above...)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 russet potato, peeled, cubed
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannelloni beans, drained, rinsed
• 1/2 cup garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed
• 28 ounce chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian Parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Basil leaves
• Salt and pepper

Since I forgot to take the step by step pictures I usually take and include, I've included a more detailed description of the cooking process below. It's quite simple - I promise. Make it and enjoy!

Cooking Instructions:

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery,  and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add potato; saute for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and rosemary sprig. Simmer until the tomatoes break down, about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, blend 3/4 cup of the cannelloni beans with 1/4 cup of the broth in a processor until almost smooth. Add the pureed bean mixture and remaining broth to the vegetable mixture. 

Simmer until the potato pieces are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Stir in the whole beans, basil and parsley. Simmer until the beans are heated through and the soup is thick, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Discard rosemary sprig (the leaves will have fallen off of the stem.)

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.