When You Have No Idea What You Want to Eat

Me: "What do you want for dinner?"

Him: "I'm not sure. What do you want for dinner?"

Rinse and repeat.

Do you find yourself frequently having this dialogue with your spouse, significant other, cat/dog or best friend? Life is filled with riddles: why did God put us here, what is the meaning of life, are we alone in the universe, why don’t cartoon characters ever change their clothes. Imagine Thoreau sitting by a stream, outside of a log cabin, meditating on what it really means to be human. Now picture the 2018 version with me walking around Whole Foods aimlessly, as I wonder if I really like arugula or if I eat it because restaurants keep putting it on top of everything. This recipe for Quickie Bolognese was the result of me rattling off a list of options to my husband on the phone and him replying “(sigh) yeah, I don’t care-I’ll eat that”. I know you were expecting something more romantic or whimsical, like “Oh, I picked this recipe up while I was traveling around Tuscany”. I’ve been to Tuscany, and there are times I walk around the grocery store, smelling herbs, pinching fruit-contemplating the mother sauces. And there are times when I am completely exhausted from waking at 4:30AM, just had the meeting (that could have been an email!) from hell and dinner is in two hours. 

Pro tips for making my Quickie Bolognese :

• Use the fresh sausage in the casing from the deli instead of plain ground turkey or beef. It's already seasoned and adds depth of flavor when you're short on time.
• Don't throw away celery leaves! Chop some up and add them to the pot when you're sauteeing the veggies, or leave them uncooked and sprinkle them in your salad.

Quickie Bolognese

Ingredients (for four servings):

• 2 tablespoons of EVOO
• 1 cup of parmigianno regianno cheese
• 2lbs of sausage (your choice)
• 2 tablespoons of minced garlic
• 1 cup of diced carrot
• 1 cup of diced onion
• 1 cup of diced celery
• 36oz of Rao's Sauce (I mix together the Arrabiata and Marinara)
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• Fresh basil thyme and oregano
• Dry pasta of your choice

Directions:

1. Take the sausage out of its casing and sauté on medium-high heat with olive oil. Drain off the juice from sausage and add in diced carrots, minced garlic, onion and celery (including some finely chopped leaves).
2. Once meat is browned/crumbled and veggies are soft, add in sauce. I season with The Spice Suite's Tuscan Blend, a dash of World Market's lemon pepper, a sprinkle of sugar,  and fresh thyme and oregano. Stir to incorporate.
3. Add in white cooking wine and heavy cream.
4. Cook down for 45 minutes on low, and add parmigianno regianno at the very end.
5. Cook pasta al dente and enjoy!