Bolognese Sauce

This is another recipe from Pastor Ryan (via Pioneer Woman). I loved the zucchini cakes so much I figured he wouldn't steer me wrong when it came to pasta sauce. In all honesty, I NEVER follow a recipe when making my pasta sauces. I'm normally just a throw-it-all-together kind of girl, taste testing along the way until I find the flavor I'm looking for. For this I tried to be a good girl and actually follow the recipe.... But it turned out that there were a few changes that I HAD to make :) First I thought the salt and pepper should go in way sooner and I thought red pepper flakes would be a nice addition. Also, I used half carrots and half zucchini because I still have zucchini coming out of my ears! Finally, I like to use half ground beef and half italian sausage in sauce recipes because I like the flavor. I am listing the recipe below with the changes I made.


Bolognese Sauce
(Adapted from The Pioneer Woman courtesy of Pastor Ryan)

1 carrot, grated
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 large onion, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage
2 tablespoons Oregano flakes
2 tablespoons dried basil flakes
1 tsp red pepper flakes *less if you don't like things very spicy
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups red wine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
salt
pepper
1 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
1 28 ounce can tomato puree
1 cup milk (I did add this, but I'm really not convinced it added anything to the sauce, so I may omit next time)
Fresh Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add grated carrots, zucchini and diced onions and cook for a few minutes.
Make a well in the center of the mixture, then add in the ground beef and sausage. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture. Add a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper
Add oregano and basil and red pepper flakes.
When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat.
Add garlic and stir to combine.
Make a well in the center of the mixture and add red wine. Stir together, scraping up any bits that stick to the bottom.
Add Worcestershire and stir.
Add canned tomatoes.
Finally, pour in milk, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours—however long you need.