What a Waste....of good time and good food!!

I was so angry yesterday.  I awoke and decided to make my unstuffed cabbage rolls in the crockpot. You may have read my Weekly Menu where I told you I had pulled a bunch of leftover's from the freezer and was going to repurpose them into different meals this week.  Yesterday was the day for using up my Beef and Cabbage Soup.  I put it into my crockpot, grabbed a large can of tomatoes and some brown rice from the pantry and went back to the crockpot.  There was only about a cup of rice left in the bag so I just dumped it right into the crockpot instead of measuring it out.  It was filled with bugs!!  Well not really bugs but that dust that is left behind from food moths.  Aaaargh, the entire contents of the crockpot ended up going out to the chickens. Fortunately, I hadn't opened the tomatoes yet.

I wasn't only upset about the waste of food but also because I was looking forward to seeing how the recipe worked using this soup as a base.  Ah well, c'est la vie.  Sunday night's Ragu Bolognese turned out beautifully using leftover roasted kielbasa and meatloaf.

It was thick and hearty and delicious.  I simply sauteed some onion and garlic in olive oil.  When tender, I deglazed the pan with a Chianti wine I was serving with dinner.  I added the chopped kielbasa and the crumbled meatloaf to the mixture with a little salt and pepper.  Not too much because the meat was already seasoned once.  I add the tomatoes and some tomato paste, brought it all to a boil, reduced the heat and let it simmer, covered, stirring occasionally until it was nice and thick and rich and we couldn't stand smelling it any longer without eating!

You can easily make this bolognese without using leftovers simply substitute a 1/2 pound each of ground pork and ground beef and cook it up with the onions and garlic, draining grease if necessary.

I made up some cheese toasts to serve along with it and preceded it with a salad.  It was a wonderful dinner an used up two of my leftovers that had been taking up room in my freezer.

As for last night's dinner?  I came home from my meeting and here is what I found.....

Life is good.......I love this guy!!

Oven Baked BBQ Pork Chops, Steamed Rice and Glazed Carrots, YUM.

Ragu Bolognese using leftovers

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T. olive oil

1/2 c. red wine (I used Chianti)

1/2 lb cooked sausage, diced (I used kielbasa)

1/2 lb cooked beef, crumbled or diced (I used leftover meatloaf)

1 (1 lb 12 oz) can of good Italian tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over med high heat.  Add the onion and garlic, cook and stir until translucent and fragrant.  Add the wine and cook until evaporated by half.  Add the meat and tomatoes, bring to a boil.  Stir and reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let simmer for two or three hours until thick and rich. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed before serving. Print Recipe