Traditional Ragu Bolognese

Hey everybody! It's been a while since I've posted, but I've still been cooking, so I'll get you all caught up on some fantastic new budget friendly recipes over the next couple of weeks. I made this simple Ragu for the small community group that meets at my house last week and it was great. Be ready for something new, this isn't a tomatoey red sauce like you may be used to, but it's so rich and, well, just AWESOME, I strongly encourage you to check it out. So easy, yet so flavorful! This is great with a simple spinach salad.

Serves 4 - $13.50 (with leftovers)

Ingredients

• 2 Tbls Olive Oil
  
• Organic Celery Stalk - Diced
• Medium Organic Carrot - Diced
• Medium Organic Onion - Diced
• 2 Slices Natural Pancetta - Diced
• 1/2 lb Organic/Natural Ground Pork
• 1/2 lb Organic/Natural Ground beef
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1 Cup Dry White Wine (3 buck Chuck Chardonnay works well here)
• 3 Tbls Organic Tomato Paste
• Pasta for four (tagliatelle is great, so is conchiglie)
  

Directions

1. Dice up your celery, carrot and onion and soften it over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it's translucent, but not yet brown
2. Throw in your diced up pancetta, pork and beef and brown it through
3. Pour in your milk, white wine and tomato paste and bring to boil, then reduce and simmer for an hour
4. Put your salted water on to boil and cook your pasta according to the directions
5. Salt and pepper the sauce to taste
6. Drain the noodles and either serve it on top of the noodles, or mix it all together
7. Enjoy!
   

African Peanut Soup

If you've been to a McMenamins in Oregon and you've been able to steer clear of the fries with your blue cheese and bacon burger, you may have had this as your soup option. It's pretty much the best meal in a bowl I've ever had, and it's rich enough to stand alone for dinner with some bread and salad greens.

Serves 4 for dinner or 6 as a before meal
$17

Ingredients

• 1 Medium Organic Onion - chopped
• 1 Large Organic Carrot - diced
• 1 rib of celery - chopped
  
• 1 bell pepper - seeded & chopped
• 32 oz Organic Free Range Chicken Broth
• 1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
• 2 large tomatoes - chopped
• 1 chicken breast - cooked and chopped
• From the cupboard - 1 cup milk, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper

Directions

1. Cook the Chicken (I like to grill it if the weather cooperates)
   
2. Heat oil in a saucepan and toss in the onion, celery, carrot and bell pepper. Cook until the onion is translucent - about 10 minutes
3. Stir in the flour and slowly add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly to avoid lumps
4. Add the peanut butter and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Throw in the tomatoes, chicken and milk. Season with the salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste and simmer for another 30 minutes.
6. Enjoy!
   

Hungarian Chicken Paprikas

This recipe is the perfect comfort food (sorry mac & cheese). The first time I had it was at Novak's restaurant in Albany, OR. We go there with Brooke's Grandparents almost every time we visit and Papa Novak makes it out to say hello every time (not Mama though, she's busy making this wonderful dish)!

Serves 6
$15.00

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Organic Chicken Thighs - cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 Large Organic Onion - diced
• 1 Large Organic Green Pepper - diced
• 1 Large Organic Tomato - finely chopped
• 1/2 cup water
  
• 8 oz Organic Sour Cream
• 16 oz Organic Egg Noodles
• From the cupboard - Olive Oil, 4 Tbls flour, 2 Tbls paprika, 1/2 cup white wine, salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Saute onion, green pepper and tomato in 1 Tbls olive oil until onions are translucent
   
2. Stir in Paprika and add the white wine & 1/2 cup water
   
3. Add chicken, salt & pepper and simmer until the chicken is tender
4. Pull the chicken out and set it in a casserole dish
5. Add another 1/2 cup water to the pan
6. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions
   
7. In a small bowl, whisk 1 cup of cold water with 4 Tbls flour until smooth
8. Bring the sauce in the pan to a boil and whisk in the flour mixture
9. Cook until the sauce thickens to a nice gravy texture
10. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream
11. Add the chicken back to the sauce and serve over the noodles