Ragu It Up!

Summer may be in full swing but the family is missing some of the comfort foods that are usually found in the Fall or Winter months. Today we satisfied those cravings by making a ragu. It’s a recipe that one of my good friends and I came up with a few years back.

Sure, everyone has the best pasta sauce. Or knows a secret that the rest of the world doesn’t. While this may be true, this ragu style sauce is full of hearty summer veggies like zucchini, crookneck squash and carrots. It also contains an amazing array of herbs and spices. Plus, a great kicker is that if it’s hot as balls outside, this ragu does very well in a crock pot! Ta-Da! A sauce cooking all day, filling the house with pleasing smells and not heat! Talk about a double win.

This stuff is very filling and could serve as a meal on it’s own! We usually have it over noodles with some homemade bread! You can make it with any ground meat of your choice. This time around, I used ground beef. In my opinion the best meat that I’ve used is ground lamb or bison. Ground turkey is good as well! Be aware though, the overall flavor can change depending upon which kind of meat you chose to use.

Fresh herbs are also usually my go to. Today, we were running short on time so I rummaged through our cupboards and found what I needed. It still tastes just as amazeballs with the store bought stuff!

Stuff you’ll need:

• • 2-3 lbs of ground meat
  • 3 cans of tomato sauce
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 medium zucchini
  • 2 small crook neck squash
  • 3 carrots
  • 6-7 mushrooms
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
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• Herbs you’ll need:
• 1 tbsp. Basil
• 1 tbsp. Oregano
• 1 tbsp. Rosemary
• 2 tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp. Minced onion
• 1/2 tbsp. Parsley
• 1 tsp. Garlic salt
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 beef bullion cubes

I used a large Lodge Cast Iron Pan to make this today. I’ve been using a lot more cast iron lately, I’ve found that it cooks and heats more evenly.

What to do:

• Heat the pan over low heat (if using cast iron) or medium-low with the olive oil and start browning the meat.
• Chop the onion and peel and mince the garlic gloves.
• Chop all other veggies.

• Once the meat is cooked through, add in the onion and garlic and cook 3-5 minutes, until the onions are tender.
• Add in the red wine vinegar to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
• Place all other veggies in the mixture. Cook until just tender.
• Add in the herbs, spices, and bullion cubes and mix well.
• Then add the tomato sauce, stir well. Cover and reduce heat to simmer, let it cook for a few hours so all of the flavors have time to marry.

If using a crock pot, brown the meat, sautee the veggies, throw everything in together and add 2 1/2 cups of water. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or cook on high for about 5 hours.

Enjoy!