Everyday Eats

Pasta with Homemade Beef Bolognese

This pasta with beef bolognese sauce may become my go-to shovel-in dish. The recipe says it could serve five people once, or one person five times - my case was the latter (albeit it was more like three times). To get all the ingredients, I had to use Google Translate in the Danish supermarket which was slightly embarrassing. The red wine I of course already had though. Here is the recipe:


2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to cook the pasta 

1 pound lean ground sirloin 
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves) 
1 tablespoon dried oregano 
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 
1¼ cups dry red wine 
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 
2 tablespoons tomato paste 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
¾ pound pasta of choice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg 
¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed 
¼ cup heavy cream 
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving 
Instructions
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground sirloin and cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and has started to brown. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more minute. Pour 1 cup of the wine into the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1½ teaspoons pepper, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. 
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, a splash of oil, and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the box.
While the pasta cooks, finish the sauce. Add the nutmeg, basil, cream, and the remaining ¼ cup wine to the sauce and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. When the pasta is cooked, drain and pour into a large serving bowl. Add the sauce and ½ cup Parmesan and toss well. Serve hot with Parmesan on the side. 

Homemade Burgers

We went all-out on burger night, with every topping you could imagine. We used ground beef for the burgers, packing them into balls which we filled with mozzarella, smothered in BBQ sauce, and salted and peppered. To cook them cooked them in a pan for a few minutes, then finished them in the oven for a couple minutes. Topping included blue cheese, bacon, sautéed onions and mushrooms, tomato, arugula, and avocado. Delicious.

Quinoa and Sweet Potato Salad

An old classic in the Freedman house due to the dish's shovel-in, refridgeratable nature, this quinoa and sweet potato salad is also pretty healthy and tasty. 

I used diced sweet potatoes roasted with a little olive oil, salt and pepper in a 400 degree oven. Then I roasted brocolli, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds, and added raisins and cooked chicken for a fully balanced meal. Add some fresh herbs like parsley. For dressing, use walnut oil and sherry vinegar if you can, and add a little maple syrup. The good thing with this quinoa salad is you can play around and adapt it however you want.