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Mighty Meaty Pasta SauceThick, rich, meaty and flavorful Bolognese sauce If you make this super-meaty pasta sauce for your meat-loving family members, they’ll think you’re a culinary superhero!

1 tbsp olive oil 1½ cups chopped red onions ½ cup each diced celery and diced carrots 1 tbsp minced garlic 1¼ lbs (568 g) extra-lean ground beef 8 oz (227 g) light spicy Italian sausage, casing removed 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning ½ tsp dried fennel seeds 1 can (28 oz/796 mL) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained 1 can (14 oz/398 mL) no-salt-added tomato sauce 1 can (5.5 oz/156 mL) tomato paste 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp brown sugar ½ tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper ¼ cup minced fresh basil leaves

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add beef and sausage. Cook and stir until meat is no longer pink. Break up any large pieces of meat as it’s cooking. Add Italian seasoning and fennel seeds and cook 1 more minute.

• Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in basil and remove from heat. Serve sauce over hot, cooked pasta.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

PER SERVING 240 calories, 9 g total fat (3 g saturated fat), 23 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 3.2 g fiber,

69 mg cholesterol, 459 mg sodium

Trivial Tidbit A clove of garlic is also called a: (a) toe; (b) nob; (c) petal; or (d) vampire’s tooth. And the answer? (a) toe! We prefer an entire foot in our spaghetti sauce!

• Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

• To make sauce, spray a large, non-stick pot or deep, non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Remove casing from sausage and break into small pieces in skillet. Add ground beef, onions and garlic. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until meat is no longer pink. Stir in oregano and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook 1 more minute. Add pasta sauce, tomatoes, basil, vinegar and black pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

• While sauce is simmering, cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again.

• In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta, spinach, Parmesan cheese and egg. Refrigerate until ready to use.

• To assemble lasagna, spread 1 cup meat sauce over bottom of baking dish. Top with 4 noodles, cutting pieces to fit, if necessary. Spread ¹⁄³ remaining sauce over noodles, followed by ¹⁄³ mozzarella. Top with 4 more noodles, ¹⁄³ sauce, all of the ricotta mixture and ¹⁄³ mozzarella. For top layer: 4 noodles, ¹⁄³ sauce, ¹⁄³ mozzarella.

• Cover lasagna with foil and bake at 375ºF for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Let lasagna stand, uncovered, for 15 minutes before serving.

Chap9_Ground Meat.indd 245 10/5/11 12:21 AM

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Job: 55643_INBCyan,Magenta,Yellow,BlackDate: Oct-12-2011 alain