Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

Hide the veggies!!!! 2015 is a year I plan to do MORE cooking and buying less premade. I think one of the basics I need to master is spaghetti sauce as that is one of John's favourite meals AND not something he can have in the truck during the week. Although it is easy enough to get at any truck stop diner, watered down sauce and overcooked pasta is JUST not the same. SO what can I do differently. John loves my cooking. I am not a bad cook, but have become supremely lazy in past years. This was today's sauce: 1 can of tomatoes diced (now when veggies are plentiful and inexpensive these will be fresh) $0.99 1 bunch of green onions (I like the colour -chunkily chopped) $0.79 2 regular onions (chunkily chopped) $0.50 1/2 of a bunch of celery (chunkily chopped) $1 1 green pepper (chunkily chopped) $1 1/2+ cup of parmesan or romano cheese $1 generous amount of your favourite Italian seasonings 2 tsp garlic 2 cups of water subtotal $4.28 **** and w...

Makes 3 cups Preparation 30 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour 1 finely chopped onion 1 finely chopped carrot 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1/2 stalk of celery, finely chopped 1 slice bacon, finely chopped 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter 1 tbsp olive oil 360 g ground beef, lean or medium-lean 1/3 cup milk, 2% 1/3 cup white wine 1 cup diced canned tomatoes 2 tsp tomato paste 1 tsp dried oregano salt and pepper to taste Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the vegetables and bacon, then cook until softened, 5-6 minutes, with some stirring.  Add the meat, then salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring frequently and breaking up the meat with a spoon until it loses its pink colour and starts browning, about 7-8 minutes. Raise the heat to high, then add the milk.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes.  Add the wine, then cook, stirring frequently, until the wine has evaporated, about 3 minutes. ...