Pasta with bolognese sauce

pasta bolognese sauce

Raise your hand if you love pasta. I see your hand way up there! I love pasta too!

OK, a family favorite recipe of ours is pasta with bolognese sauce. Normally I would make it with fresh tomatoes, but as you can see in these photos, I made it with tomato paste. The reason I made it with tomato paste is because during the lock-down we are trying to limit our trips outside of the house to the grocery store. We eat our fresh vegetables rights away, and then we rely on cans and frozen vegetables until our next trip to the store. The wonderful thing about Pasta with bolognese sauce is that you can freeze the ground beef when you buy it, and save it for a later date while substituting fresh tomatoes for tomato paste. This makes a meal which is delicious, and a treat, for days when supplies start to run low. This is a versatile dish!

We are a family of five who loves to eat pasta, so at some point I doubled the recipe to make loads of pasta. My kids always want leftovers of my pasta with bolognese sauce, so this recipe will serve a hungry family of five for both dinner, and lunch the next day. You may even get lucky with a few servings of leftovers after that. it warms up well in the microwave as a leftover, so indulge!

The ingredients are listed with both fresh and pantry options depending on what you have stored during the lock-down. Also, after the lock-down lifts, the pantry items are great in case you are missing a fresh ingredient, or were so busy you didn’t make it to the store. I am always switching it up depending on my schedule!

Pasta with bolognese sauce ingredients:

  • 2 boxes of Barilla Mezzi Rigatoni pasta, equivalent to 2 lbs. of pasta. (This is our favorite shape for bolognese, but you can use your favorite if you have one)
  • 1.5 pounds ground beef
  • 1 can of tomato paste or  six fresh tomatoes chopped.
  • 2 cups chicken broth or one can of chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup olive oil.
  • 2 chopped garlic cloves or 2 teaspoons chopped garlic from a jar such as Christopher Ranch
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
  • 1 tablespoon paprika from your spice rack
  • 1 tablespoon chopped oregano from your spice rack
  • 1/4 cup chopped onions or 1 tablespoon dried chopped onions from the spice rack
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese for use when serving

Now onto directions! Without further ado, here are the simple steps to making a yummy meal of pasta with bolognese sauce! Oh, and just in case you were wondering about my pasta credentials, I have 100% Italian heritage as my ancestors came to the United States from Genoa and Udine starting in the 1800’s. So I had plenty of pasta cooking education, and I have eaten my share of pasta throughout my life.

How to cook pasta with bolognese sauce

  1. Fry the ground beef until it is well done
  2. In a mixing bowl, mix together beef, tomatoes, chicken broth, basil, garlic, onions, oregano, paprika, and olive oil
  3. Place sauce mixture in a large pot or saucepan and simmer on medium, covered.
  4. Using a large pot, fill with water and bring water to a boil
  5. Place pasta in boiling water, add a dab of olive oil to help keep pasta from sticking
  6. When pasta is al dente, drain water and return to the post
  7. Throw a dab of olive oil in the pot and stir to make sure pasta doesn’t stick.
  8. Turn off your cook-top and throw the sauce in the pot with the pasta
  9. Stir sauce and pasta together until all the pasta is covered
  10. The sauce should stick to the pasta
  11. Serve on dishes
  12. Garnish with Parmesan cheese to taste
  13. Eat and enjoy!

Want to enhance this meal? Serve with garlic bread, crustini, or sliced french bread. Yum!

When everyone is done getting seconds and thirds, store leftover pasta with bolognese sauce in the refrigerator to enjoy later.

Things you might need to make this recipe at home:

There you have it! My easy pasta with bolognese sauce recipe, you can make at home. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy

pasta bolognese sauce easy at home recipe

Home manicure tips

chanel fleur de pecher nail polish late spring 2020

photo: my current favorite polish, see original post here.

Do you normally head to a manicurist to get your nails done? Now that we are sheltering-in-place, are your nails going to pot? Never fear, you can learn how to do your own nails here!

I don’t like people touching my nails, so I have been doing my own nails since high school. I love wearing the current “IT” nail colors, as well as colors which fit my mood. It’s always fun to keep a few colors on hand so you can switch things up every time you do your nails.

If you invest in good nail polish, your home manicure can last for a week; and you’ll find yourself saving tons of money over time. After the lockdown is lifted, you may find you continue doing your own nails at home! It’s a huge money saver; and it gives you the flexibility to change your nail color at will. You’ll get hooked!

Here is my tried and true, home manicure routine. It’s simple, and not invasive. This is also how I keep my nails strong and healthy.

  1. Clean off any old nail polish using a nail polish remover which doesn’t strip your nails. This one is my favorite.
  2. Wash your hands
  3. Clip your nails. This is a great clipper.
  4. File your nails. These are great. Only the edges! Do not file or buff the top of your nails. This weakens them.
  5. Wash your hands
  6. Apply hand cream. Check out my favorites.
  7. Let your hands rest for fifteen minutes
  8. Apply a base coat, wait twenty minutes
  9. Apply first coat of color, wait twenty minutes
  10. Apply second coat of color, wait twenty minutes
  11. Apply top coat.
  12. Allow nails to set for half an hour before doing any type of work

I like to do my nails in the evening when I am relaxing and watching TV. I always make sure I have finished house cleaning for the day. It’s also a good idea to already be in your PJ’s, and have already washed your face, before doing your nails. The only thing I leave for after my nails is brushing my teeth; just in case I want an evening snack, or feel like drinking tea.

It is always a good idea to allow your nails to set and rest, even when they seem dry and hard. This seems to allow the manicure to last longer.

Why use a base coat? A base coat protects your nails from color staining. It can also protect you if you are using nail polish which isn’t five free. What is five free? Five free nail polishes are free from dangerous chemicals which could seep into your body through your nails. I always show, and promote, brands which are five free and healthy for your nails. So no worries!

I recommend using a five free base coat, then you can use any color you want; although I recommend sticking to five free brands for your color and top coat too.

Here are a few fun colors to try out at home, as well as tools you’ll need for your home manicure. You can rock the color of the year, or one of the season’s IT colors by Chanel. There are so many pretty colors out there to try out!

How do I keep my nails healthy? I like to let them breath once a month. It’s a good idea to keep your nails polish-free for twenty four hours, once a month. I try to time it so that my nails are polish-free on a day when I don’t have any plans, and no-one will see my bare nails. Although, if you keep your nails healthy, they will look perfectly fine bare. This is a tip my mom taught me when I started painting my nails in high school. It’s an old school tip, and it works like a charm!

Hopefully this helps you keep your nails looking fabulous while nail salons are closed. Feel free to share any of your own tips in the comment section below!

Thanks for stopping by,

XOXO

Cathy

Pajama party time!

cardigan sweater for fall

photo: photo taken in October 2018. This cozy cardigan is great around the house over pajamas and loungewear.

Most of the country is currently having a pajama party. As our shelter-in-place continues, and we social distance by staying home, many of us are spending the day in our pajamas. It’s ok, you can tell the world! Everyone else is doing it too!

Since many of us are working from home, and homeschooling, we are active inside our homes despite our pajamas, or loungewear. While bathrobes are cozy, and great for temporary comfort, it’s easier to throw on a cardigan to keep cozy around the house in our PJ’s or loungewear. Also, a cardigan looks more like outside clothing than a bathrobe. After all, sometimes PJ’s or loungewear look like tee-shirts, so throwing a cardigan over them can look like a casual outfit while in a video conference. Haha, now you know my trick!

Since it is currently springtime, there are tons of cozy cardigans on major sale which are leftover from the winter season. Here are some of my favorites. I have this style in grey.

Shop cozy cardigans you can wear at home:

Another great look to wear from home is athleisure. I love wearing sweats since they are comfortable at home, and can also be worn for a trip to the grocery store, or while out on a walk in the neighborhood.

holiday street style

athleisure look taken in December 2019. I wear this out to the grocery store.

Here are a few of my favorite athleisure pieces around the web.

Shop sweats online:

I am a huge pajama fan! Many of my pajamas are from Soma, but here are a few others on sale which are great to wear right now.

Shop sale pajamas online:

What do you find yourself wearing often while we shelter in place? Are you wearing pajamas a lot, or switching into actual outfits? Spill it in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

photo below taken in June 2019 on our trip to Hawaii. I am wearing these PJ’s all the time now!

pajamas