My 10 year old daughter won't eat veggies, but she loves this! I make a double quantity and freeze half to use another time e.g. for a lasagne dish.
Ingredients:
1 kg regular beef mince, brown this first, breaking up the lumps and spoon out excess fat
2 onions, chopped,
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6 slices short-cut bacon, chopped, visible fat removed
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
2-3 carrots, grated
2 courgettes (zucchinis), grated
2 tbs tomato paste
1 x 400g can brown lentils
125g (approx) mushrooms, sliced
1 cup red wine
1-2 tbs dried basil or 2 handfuls fresh basil, chopped
optional extra herbs e.g. oregano, parsley, or Italian herbs/seasoning to taste
salt and ground black pepper to taste (I often don't use any)
1/2 cup tomato sauce (ketchup) (my "secret" ingredient) (or use a couple of tsp sugar)
2-3 cups water as needed to give good consistency
1-2 tbs flour to thicken, optional
Method:
Start by browning the mince and bacon and removing excess fat. (I use a large electric frying pan.) Turn down the heat and move the mince to one side so that you can cook the onions and garlic in the space vacated. Once the onions are softened mix it all up and add the tins of tomatoes, followed by all the remaining ingredients other than the water and flour. Mix and simmer gently, covered for about 30minutes. Stir often adding the water gradually as required. Don't let the sauce stick/burn onto the pan! Towards the end of cooking you can add the flour to thicken the sauce, perhaps adding more water. Serve with spaghetti and Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients:
1 kg regular beef mince, brown this first, breaking up the lumps and spoon out excess fat
2 onions, chopped,
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6 slices short-cut bacon, chopped, visible fat removed
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
2-3 carrots, grated
2 courgettes (zucchinis), grated
2 tbs tomato paste
1 x 400g can brown lentils
125g (approx) mushrooms, sliced
1 cup red wine
1-2 tbs dried basil or 2 handfuls fresh basil, chopped
optional extra herbs e.g. oregano, parsley, or Italian herbs/seasoning to taste
salt and ground black pepper to taste (I often don't use any)
1/2 cup tomato sauce (ketchup) (my "secret" ingredient) (or use a couple of tsp sugar)
2-3 cups water as needed to give good consistency
1-2 tbs flour to thicken, optional
Method:
Start by browning the mince and bacon and removing excess fat. (I use a large electric frying pan.) Turn down the heat and move the mince to one side so that you can cook the onions and garlic in the space vacated. Once the onions are softened mix it all up and add the tins of tomatoes, followed by all the remaining ingredients other than the water and flour. Mix and simmer gently, covered for about 30minutes. Stir often adding the water gradually as required. Don't let the sauce stick/burn onto the pan! Towards the end of cooking you can add the flour to thicken the sauce, perhaps adding more water. Serve with spaghetti and Parmesan cheese.
