Homemade Meat Sauce

You know how I said I said I wanted to try zucchini noodles with a red sauce? Well, I tried it. It was amazing.

There's something about a homemade meat sauce that just screams "comfort food!!!" to me. I was dying for some comfort food the other night, but I'm really really trying to be good about dieting.

Dieting sucks.

Anyway, I didn't want to use pasta, so I decided to see how this meat sauce paired with zucchini noodles.

It. was. amazing. Even Justin said he didn't miss the pasta (WHAT?!). Either way, you can make this with zucchini noodles or pasta, but make it because it is SO good.

It takes about an hour to make, but I put it in the fridge and re-heated the next day. It was 10 times better - I highly recommend doing that.

Here's what you need (slightly adapted from Rachel Ray) . . .

Olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes*
1 lb of 90% lean ground sirloin
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3-7 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp of fresh herbs, chopped**
1/2 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup red wine
3/4 cup low sodium beef broth
28 oz can crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
Pasta or zucchini noodles (see cooking instructions on bottom for zucchini noodles)

*Leave out the red pepper flakes if you don't like spicy - it gives the sauce a little kick.

**I used fresh basil, parsley, and oregano - it ended up being about 3 tbsp

Here's what you do . . .

1. In a large pan, do one circle of olive oil and let your red pepper flakes heat up in the oil for about one minute. It infuses the oil with some spice!

2. Add meat, onion, garlic, all spice, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs. Saute until the meat is brown and cooked through (about 6-7 minutes).

3. Add red wine and allow to reduce for about 4-5 minutes.

4. Add beef broth and tomatoes and simmer on low heat for one hour. Serve over your pasta of choice (or zucchini noodles) with some parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!

For the zucchini noodles:

Julienne 3 large zucchini (julienne peeler). In a large pan with about 1 tbsp olive oil, saute your zucchini noodles with salt, pepper, and garlic powder until soft, but still crispy (about 5 minutes - test the frequently).

This was a fantastic dinner and one I didn't have to feel guilty about, which is always a plus. Zucchini noodles are my new favorite!

Have a wonderful weekend :)