Spaghetti Bolognese

Growing up my family rarely experimented with foods on me and my brother. A lot of it was because there were things my parents were sure that my brother and I wouldn't like. Now my brother doesn't like anything with vegetables that isn't corn or raw carrots. I am not sure if this has changed.

However, when he lived with me, he would set a good example for his nephew and eat all his vegetables. He would only be exempt if it was something I knew he had several times and truly didn't like.

A lot of times, my brother would simply pick out the things he didn't like.

So when spaghetti night rolled around in house, if it wasn't plain sauce, my brother usually complained and picked everything out. Often I found that the jar stuff was never packed enough with all the things I loved.

When I went to Wales for three months, I got to taste a lot of new foods, some I liked, others I didn't. One of the things that was made for me was spaghetti bolognese. At first I was apprehensive as it wasn't something I had never heard of. But as it was explained to me I was more and more interested.

Sauce in house was usually just a jar of the premade stuff and "shaker" cheese on a bed of some over or under cooked noodles. Once in a while we had sausage, ground beef, or my mother's meatballs (which sometimes were triangles). This isn't to say that my family's dinners were bland, they were just basic.

But this stuff that my in-laws were crafting was jammed packed with meat, mushrooms, onions, peppers and vast amounts of garlic and herbs. I very rarely make my sauce without all of the above.

Perhaps I am a bit too lazy or just not brave enough but I simply buy a jar of sauce and go from there.

What you need:

1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu tomato and mozzerella)
1 green pepper, diced
6 oz sliced button mushrooms
6 oz of onions
1 lbs ground beef
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp of olive oil, divided 2 and 1

In a medium sauce pan, brown the meat. Drain and rinse about half way through through the browning. You'll still want some meat fat in the sauce, but not too much or it became a greasy mess. Add salt and pepper.

In a saute pan, heat up two tablespoons olive oil, add the onions and peppers. saute until they the onions are translucent and tender. Add the garlic.

With another pan, add the other tablespoon of olive oil and the mushrooms. Spread them out over the pan to allow for even cooking. Julia Childs said it best; "The mushrooms must be dry, the butter very hot, and the mushrooms must not be crowded in the pan,"

Once the meat is browned, add the sauce, set to low and cover with a lid until the mushrooms, peppers and onions are finished. Add the vegetables to the meat sauce.

Cook over low heat for up to 30 minutes, stir every 5 to 7 minutes. During this time you can cook your spaghetti. This is more of a personal choice so I won't fill you in on how to make your pasta.

Bon appetit!