Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

I am such a sucker for pasta. I pretty much love anything with carbs, but pasta is especially high up on my list. I generally gravitate toward the more "unique" dishes on a menu, but every now and then I get a serious craving for old fashioned pasta with meat sauce. I just love it.
Last winter, I decided that even though Connor isn't a huge fan of red sauce, I was going to make some good, old fashioned red meat sauce that he would like just as much as I do.
I looked over tons of recipes, and ended up putting all of my favorite ingredients together to create what I think is one heck of a meat sauce recipe. It isn't too tomato-y, which is probably why Connor agrees that it is a really great dish! So, even if you don't like red sauce either, (Mom and Laura) I really think you will like this a lot, too.

Here's what you'll need:
1/2-1 lb ground beef (or turkey if you like that better)
-1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil
-3/4 white onion, finely chopped
- 1-2 ribs of celery(depending on how long they are), finely chopped -1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
-1-1.5 Cup sliced mushrooms (you can use caned ones, but I like fresh best)
-1/2 Cup red wine
-one 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
-2-3 bay leaves
-salt and pepper to taste
And of course, angel hair pasta- but that's a given!

Here we go!

-First, brown the meat in a medium skillet over med/high heat. Drain, remove from heat. I use this skillet for the meat sauce, so you can keep the meat in there)

-Cook mushrooms in a med skillet in the olive oil, over med heat, until edges are golden brown. Add some minced garlic and salt for taste. Pour into a bowl, and set aside.

- Chop celery, onion, and garlic

- Place meat back on stove, on low-med heat, and add celery, mushrooms, garlic, and onion.

- Pour in the red wine and can of tomatoes, and bay leaves

-Let simmer on the stove for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally

-Reduce heat to low, and allow to continue to cook for about 30 min, or until all of the flavors have started to blend

-Serve over your favorite pasta and ENJOY!

Cooking the mushrooms


Adding all of the "fixins"


Stiring it all together!