So, they say when women are pregnant they get something known as ‘pregnancy brain’ which is just a nice way of saying you basically are dumb for 9 months. Rightfully so – the baby and hormones are all consuming. Of course it’s hard to focus on anything else.
Well, something different happens with me. When I’m pregnant, I’m sharp as a tac. In fact, I think being pregnant made me even smarter. I could focus, make decisions – everything was just fine. Then I have the baby.
Oh my goodness.
I remember with L having severe newborn brain. I’m always certain it lasted roughly a year. Well, with B it’s just as severe and he’s almost 14 months and there is no end in sight. I literally asked M the other day – ‘do you think I should get my head checked?’ Within the past 10 days I’ve lost my keys, left my phone at a Chase bank for a few hours not even realizing it was missing, left my coat and aviator sunglasses in our drivers car in Sonoma (ok, the wine may have had something to do with that), etc. I find things in weird places (i.e. socks in the fridge). I could go on and on but frankly, it’s embarrassing and the worst part is I don’t remember doing any of it.
The past few days had gotten better though – nothing valuable had been lost and I was able to keep up with our daily routine here just fine. Yippee – I am a functioning normal person again! One morning, I decided to take B out to our favorite grocery store to get ingredients solely to make one meal. I didn’t need much – this wasn’t rocket science here, about 5 ingredients and I was good to go.
Of course I left the store forgetting one and important one. I was halfway through sauteing the thick bacon and turkey when I realized whoops – no crushed tomatoes. Kind of an important one for this sauce. Not only did I not have them, I had no type of canned tomatoes I could blend. With B napping away upstairs I turned off the red pot and sent a text to my dear neighbor, Gretchen. Please have some please have some please have some.
She called me right away because she’s awesome like that. My afternoon of homemade bolognese sauce making was saved! Now if only I could shake the baby haze that seems to be clouding my mind….
This recipe is perfect for fall and dare I say it…..winter. It’s hearty and chock full of vegetables and turkey instead of beef so you can enjoy guilt free (huge bonus). That one slice of bacon isn’t entirely necessary, but, can it really hurt?ecipe Card
- - 2 to 3 TBS olive oil
- - 1 onion, diced
- - 1/2 zuchinni, diced
- - 2 large carrots, diced
- - 1/2 green pepper, diced
- - 1 clove garlic, minced
- - salt & pepper
- - red pepper flakes
- - 1 slice thick bacon, diced
- - 1 LBS ground turkey, white or dark
- - 1 big TBS tomato paste
- - 2 tsp fennel, crushed
- - 1/4 cup good red wine
- - 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- - 1 tsp or so of fresh oregano, minced
- Warm the olive oil in a big pot over low heat.
- Add the onion to sweat out for a few minutes.
- Add the rest of the veggies and sauté until soft.
- Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch or two of red pepper flakes.
- Move the veggie mixture to the outer sides of the pot, crank up the heat a bit, and sauté your bacon.
- Once slightly browned, add in your turkey and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon until no longer pink.
- Add in the tomato paste and fennel and cook for a minute or two.
- Stir in the wine and bring to a boil until reduced.
- In go your tomatoes and oregano. Simmer 10-15 minutes, taste for additional seasonings needed, and simmer for another 30.
- We enjoyed this over fresh whole wheat pasta with plenty of parmesan on top!
C
P.S. Wonder where my keys turned up? Thank you, MB, for finding these. I have absolutely no recollection of this:
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Courtney
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Looking forward to dinner tonight (should go well with our wine that just arrived)!
Sounds delish! Glad the wine made a safe trip as well.
Tia @ Gilded TBags recently posted…This is a Story…..Part 4
Copying your recipe tonight! I totally agree about the forgetfulness, I run up and down stairs all day looking for things, and trying to remember what I was looking for?!? Xxx
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