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A Life From Scratch.

A Life You Adore Around A Table You Love.

Four hour Bolognese

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So hi.

I’m back.

Slowly, that is. 

If you follow me on Instagram (thank you!) you know I sort of took an abrupt break yet have been getting back in the game lately, which feels great. I love this space so much and the chance to be creative in the kitchen is most definitely a place my heart needs to be. Sometimes change happens faster than words and until the right words can be said we are going to focus on words for this four hour bolognese sauce because, my goodness. It’s a topic worthy of discussion.

Yep. I said four hours. Because good things take time.

Don’t let it intimidate you though, it’s not an active four hours. You basically get everything in the pot…minimal, fresh ingredients. And then just let it hang and do it’s thing for a chunk of the day. The only requirement is you babysit it a little bit by giving it a stir here and there. Which I did between laundry, pool time, and basketball try outs. Easy enough.

The end result is a slow cooked, deep flavored, hearty pasta sauce that is simply tossed with some fresh or dried pasta, any shape you fancy. Don’t forget the parmesan and fresh parsley on top, it’s just the finish your bowl needs.

Enjoy!

FOUR HOUR BOLOGNESE
Recipe adapted from Marcella Hanzan

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon for tossing the pasta
½ cup chopped onion
⅔ cup chopped celery
⅔ cup chopped carrot
1 lbs pound ground beef chuck (or you can use 1 part pork to 2 parts beef, I used all beef)
salt & pepper
1 cup whole milk
Whole nutmeg
1 cup dry white wine, I used a mix of white and red
1 ½ cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, broken up by hand, with their juice
1 lbs pasta, whatever kind you prefer
parmesan and parsley, for topping

DIRECTIONS:

Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well and let them soften.

Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork or wooden spoon, stir well. Cook until the beef has lost its red color.

Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. This will take a little time. Add a tiny grating — about 1/8 teaspoon — of nutmeg, and stir.

Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well.

When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the smallest of simmers, with just a little bubble breaking the sauce here and there. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time.

While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it may possibly begin to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add 1/2 cup of water whenever necessary. (I never needed to do this). At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.

Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan and parsley on top.

Meal prep Monday: Greek Chicken Bowls

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Oh I love starting a new series on the blog, something about it feel so fresh and, even though it’s still within my own little established blog, brand new!

Something major dawned on me recently. I always thought meal prepping was for working outside the home people to complete on the weekend in order to bring healthy and satisfying lunches to work during the week.

But that’s not entirely true.

Meal prepping can be for anyone. Stay at home mamas included. Because those mamas often find themselves shuffling between sports in the evening instead of in the kitchen cooking away and enjoying a lovely meal.

Or maybe you are home, but you have a newborn, and the idea of cooking every. single. night. is enough to drive you to the looney bin.

Enter Meal Prep Monday! Suitable for all lifestyles. I’m going to be testing out some fresh, healthy, and satisfying recipes you can make ahead and prep into ‘bowl’ formats and eat whenever you are ready. There is something so comforting in knowing there is a great meal ready when you are, don’t you think? (And hey, you don’t have to prep your meals on Monday. This is just when I will be featuring meals that are suitable for prepping).

First up are these Greek Chicken Bowls.

I die.

So much so, that I ate one for dinner, then one for lunch and dinner the next day. Yep, didn’t get old.

A few things, I halved the recipe since I was on my own this week. If you want 6 bowls though go ahead and make the whole thing. I marinaded the chicken 24 hours in advance and grilled. The cucumbers call to be marinaded, but with so much flavor going on in the chicken and the taziki sauce, I figured leaving them along was fine and they totally were. You can skip that step or go ahead and marinade them too.

I used Trader Joes organic brown microwavable rice which is so super easy. So aside from a bit of chopping and remembering to marinade and grill (or just cook on the stove top) chicken, these came together very easily and BAM – you’ve got yourself three (or six!) meals.

You so rock.

MEAL PREP: GREEK CHICKEN BOWLS (makes 6 individual servings, or bowls)

Greek Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbs garlic, minced (Note, adjust to preference)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 Tbs dried oregano
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cucumber Salad
2 English cucumbers, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/2 Tbs minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Tzatziki Sauce
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 English cucumber, finely diced
1 Tbs minced garlic
1/2 Tbs dill weed, or 1 Tbs fresh dill, chopped fine
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp chopped fresh mint (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

The Rest
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup red onion slices

DIRECTIONS:

In a large plastic zip bag, combine olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, greek yogurts and salt and pepper.  Add chicken into the bag. Massage to make sure chicken is full covered and marinate for at least 20 minutes, up to 12 hours.

Drain the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade. In a skillet, heat some olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken when it is hot, and cook, flipping part way through. Cook approximately 4-5 minutes per side. (You can also grill over medium high heat, which is what I did).

Once cool, cut into bite sized pieces. Just make sure you let it cool first, or all the juice will run out.

Meanwhile, make cucumber salad by chunking the cucumbers, and tossing in a bowl with the lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, and oregano. 

Make tzatziki sauce by combining the Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, dill weed, lemon juice, lemon zest in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. And add mint (optional – I totally used and yum!)

Cook brown rice according to package directions. When finished cooking, divide between meal prep containers, 1/2 cup in each container, halve cherry tomatoes, and mix with red onion slices. Divide amongst the bowls. Top with chicken, cucumber salad, and some tzatziki sauce.

Keep for 3- 5 days in airtight container, serve cold!

Sunday Suppers: Homemade Pork Ragu

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How is everyones winter going so far? I feel aside from that random arctic blast earlier in December (that has us all seriously bracing ourselves) we’ve had it pretty…..good. Very little snow, very little sub zero temps, very little sunshine. Sigh. You can’t have it all right? And the random high of 40-50 degree days that are sprinkled in have been life changing. Reminding us all that yes in fact, we will survive winter and it will be spring and it will be glorious.

Until then, we’ve got our trusty dutch ovens. Who is with me? If able, I would happily spend every single Saturday and Sunday standing over my red pot searing, chopping, sauteeing, simmering. The smells fill your home and friends are on their way over and all is a ok in the world at that particular moment. 

Most recently I had a love affair with a homemade pork ragu. This was a serious sauce, my friends. I’m talking all the good slow cooking stuff: meat, mirepox, herbs, a whole roasted garlic, wine. Yes indeed it does seem to be that magical formula that elevates a winter gathering to the next level and keeps friends coming over again and again and again. 

The best part about this ragu is you can make it a day or two ahead. Come entertaining time just toss with pasta (love the fresh options at Heinens, you can find them right in the tomato and pasta aisle), sprinkle some freshly grated parm and parsley on top and you’ve got yourself a meal worthy of setting your dinner room table and lighting candles for. When else are you going to use it? This is the time!

A few notes about the recipe. I used two big racks of baby back ribs from Heinens, they are heavenly. My sauce ended up on the thinner side so I ended up adding another can of whole peeled tomatoes, drained, and crushed with my hands to chunk it up a little. (Next time I would just add these in to start). I also added in a bit of red pepper flakes for a little kick as well. I did make this the day before serving and I think it got even better as all the flavors settled together. It was pure perfection for an early Sunday dinner. Make it for your friends and family soon!

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Homemade Pork Ragu
A rich and flavorful ragu perfect for Sunday dinners with friends and family.
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Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
2 hr
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
2 hr
Ingredients
  1. 2 (2 1/4- to 2 1/2-pound) racks baby back ribs, trimmed and each rack cut in half
  2. 2 teaspoons ground fennel (I just crushed up some whole fennel that I had)
  3. Kosher salt and pepper
  4. 3 tablespoons olive oil
  5. 1 large onion, chopped finely
  6. 1 large fennel bulb, stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored, and chopped fine
  7. 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped fine
  8. 1/4 cup minced fresh sage
  9. 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
  10. 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry red wine
  11. 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed coarse (I ended up using 2 cans)
  12. 3 cups chicken broth
  13. 1 garlic head, outer papery skins removed and top fourth of head cut off and thrown away
  14. 1 pound fresh pasta for serving
  15. parmesan, for serving
  16. parsley, for serving
Instructions
  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Sprinkle ribs with ground fennel and generously season with salt and pepper, pressing spiced into the meat. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of ribs, meat side down, and cook, without moving them (this is key!), until meat is well browned, about 7 minutes. Repeat with remaining ribs; set aside.
  2. 2. Reduce heat to medium/medium low and add onion, fennel, carrots, 2 tablespoons sage, rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to now-empty pot. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits, until vegetables are well browned and beginning to stick to pot bottom, 12 to 15 minutes.
  3. 3. Add 1 cup wine and cook until evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and broth and bring to simmer. Submerge garlic and ribs, meat side down, in the liquid being sure to add any juices from plate. Cover and transfer to oven. Cook until ribs are fork-tender, about 2 hours.
  4. 4. Remove pot from oven and transfer ribs and garlic to baking sheet. Using large spoon, skim any fat from surface of sauce. Once cool enough to handle, shred meat from bones; discard bones and gristle. Return meat to pot. Squeeze garlic from its skin into pot. (Heaven). Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons sage and remaining 2 tablespoons wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Lightened up fettuccine alfredo.

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IMG_7891Ah, how could I be so naive.

I thought we were done with this weather nonsense, I really did. The winter coats were officially put away in the basement. Do you know how depressing it is to have to go back down there and drudge them up again?

Come on Chicago! Make up your mind. It is very confusing to be in flip flops one day and your winter parka the next. Park play dates to back to being stuck in the house with baseball cancelled, again, because it’s basically like December outside.

Obviously, I was having a bitter weather moment. And I have only myself to blame. Historically, things aren’t too lovely in April, or even May. Do you recall last Mother’s Day? It was 45 and raining. I need to remember this.

Anyway, I decided to embrace the chilly evening on a good note. Pasta is always a good thing, isn’t it? M could eat pasta every night. I could eat pasta every night but then again, there’s this…..so, I rarely do.

It’s a serious treat. Especially when it’s laced with a homemade (lightened up!) alfredo sauce. Oooooooh how lovely. We tossed it all together with fresh peas and topped with grilled chicken and, of course, more Parmesan.

Glass of pinot on the side and suddenly, for just that little moment, it felt nice to have such delicious things to warm us up. 

 

Lightened up fettuccine alfredo
A rich (and somewhat healthy!) creamy alfredo sauce that works perfectly with fresh pasta and grilled chicken.
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Prep Time
10 min
Prep Time
10 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  2. 2 cloves garlic, minced
  3. 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  4. 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
  5. 1 cup low-fat (2%) milk
  6. Kosher salt
  7. 2 tablespoons low-fat cream cheese
  8. 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
  9. 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  10. 12 ounces fresh fettuccine
  11. 1 cup fresh peas
  12. Grilled chicken, optional
  13. Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
  1. Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook until the garlic is slightly soft, about 1 minute. Add in the flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon,1 minute. Whisk in the milk and 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook, whisking constantly, until just thickened, about 3 minutes or so. Add the cream cheese and parmesan cheese; whisk until melted, about 1 minute. Stir in the freshly chopped parsley.
  2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water and then drain the pasta and return to the pot.
  3. Add the sauce and 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and gently toss to combine, adding more cooking water as needed to loosen. Season with salt. Stir in peas. Divide among bowls and top with parmesan, grilled chicken, and pepper.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

(Semi) homemade hummus.

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I love following along the cooking of Jenny Rosenstrach, author of Dinner A Love Story. It’s hard to keep up with oh so many wonderful blogs out there but hers I make a point to never miss.

Yet there are times I feel, well, the regional differences kick in. You know – New York City living versus Northwest suburb of Chicago living. Where she can go on and on about the authentic Jewish markets with huge canvas bags of spices practically pouring out onto the street ready to be turned into rich sauces and exotic dishes and homemade hummus I’m like, dude, give me the hummus in the plastic tubs from Jewel please.

Don’t get me wrong, I obviously love homemade. But come on! The hummus brands in the plastic tub are good, don’t you think?

Maybe it’s the Midwest suburbs in me. I’m not exposed to those markets. I don’t know better. Ignorance is bliss, man. Sabra hummus is the bomb. I mean, it says on the tub ‘fresh from the mediterranean sunshine.’ I’m sorry, you don’t get much more authentic than that.

Yet I suppose there are times when things can be….elevated so to speak. I have a girlfriend who has a serious ‘dish’ rule. Even if it’s just plain old me over, she will scoop the hummus out of the plastic tub and into a dish just to make it feel, well, not from a plastic tub.

This is exactly like that. You’re about to take that awesome plastic tub hummus and elevate it to the next level and guess what? It does not involve grinding up your own chick peas which, I’m sorry, I feel never ever needs to be something that you do in your life.

All you do – seriously, all you do – is scoop out that plastic tub hummus (preferably Whole Foods brand because it’s awesome) and mix it together with a TBS or two of fatty greek yogurt. It creates a consistency so smooth, so creamy, that you won’t ever eat it out of the tub again. Seriously. Then, to continue on with your fancy self, you drizzle olive oil and sprinkle paprika on top. Bam. 

How pretty is that? And seriously, the taste is out of this world. Totally worth dirtying a dish and a spoon for mixing.

Now all you need is to grab some pita chips and you are good to go. Try it for your guests – or yourself, soon! I’d love to hear if you feel it’s worth it.

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