SRC- Ragu alla Bolognese

Its time for Secret Recipe Club again - I love being part of this fun club! My favorite part of the SRC is assignment day - I love when I get that e-mail in my inbox with the link to the blog that I get to choose my recipe from. I also love that all of my assignments have all come from blogs I have never been to before, it's really a great opportunity to find some fabulous bloggers out there and some delicious recipes. If you are not familiar with exactly how this club works, you can stop by the website and learn all about it - maybe even join in! Basically you are (secretly) assigned a blog to checkout, browse through their recipes, choose one to make and blog about it. It's a lot of fun!

This month my assignment was Heavenly Treats and Treasures.  Oh my goodness - this blog  is so full of amazing dessert recipes!!  Like these Almond "JOY" Cookies and these Salted Hazelnut Chocolate Morsels.  Needless to say this was the hardest assignment yet - why? you ask surely with all these amazing treats I could find something right?  Well I am taking a carb hiatus - trying to get ready for my sisters wedding (I'm down 5 pounds so far.)  

I chose to make this delicious Ragu all Bolognese, Hubby and the kids had theirs over Fettuccine and I had mine alone with a nice big salad on the side.  This dish was so rich and delicious - don't even ask me how much Hubby ate.  He spent the entire rest of the night repeating, "I can't believe I ate so much....but it was so good."  And in a few months I am definitely coming back for some sweet treats...enjoy!!!

recipe adapted from Heavenly Treats and Treasures 
Ingredients:

1 lb. ground pork
1 lb ground beef

1 cup white wine 
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, diced  (same as carrots)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3 cups beef stock
2 heaping tablespoons of tomato paste
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
salt
pepper
1/2 large onion, diced small
1 medium carrot,diced (I did large chunks because I knew I wasn't eating pasta and wanted mine a bit stew-like)

Directions:

In a large bowl crumple the meats and combine.  Add the wine and mix well to moisten all the meat. Set aside.

In a large pot heat the olive oil and add the onions allow them to sweat a bit and then add in the celery carrots and garlic thyme and nutmeg.  Stir and cook until the vegetables soften. Push the vegetables to the side of the pan, creating a well in the center.  Dump the meat into the well and sprinkle it with salt.  Let the meat brown on the bottom a few minutes, then mix the meat in with the vegetables and stir until all of the meat is browned.  The liquid will cover most of the meat.  Continue cooking on high heat, stirring often, until all of the liquid has disappeared, including the liquid on the bottom of the pan.  Meanwhile, heat up the beef stock and keep it warm. 

Once the liquid is completely gone make another well in the center of the pan and add the tomato paste in.  Stir the paste around a bit to caramelize it, now you can mix it in with the meat and stir for another few minutes. 

Time to add the stock. Add the stock to the pan and once it begins to boil lower the heat to a simmer and cover.  Let the sauce simmer for 2 - 21/2 hours being sure to stir occasionally.