Who doesn't love a good spag bol? It's a firm family favourite, quick, easy and full of goodness. The supermarket is stacked with jarred sauces to make this meal even easier but you really don't need to use them as it's so easy to get a fantastic flavour by using good storecupboard and fresh ingredients. The key is to pack in the veg and use a very lean mince beef so you can really stretch how far the sauce can go.
All this said, I've long struggled with finding the balance of bolognaise sauce & pasta, that meets my requirements; tasty, filling, max 12 ProPoints. I am pleased to say that I think I am there! My tastebuds are tingling from the wonderful eating experience of this evening. (Ok I admit, after a glass of red to wash it down, I may also be a tad tipsy!)
One last thing; the preparation of this was super-quick with the aid of my fabulous Pampered Chef food chopper. It really made light work of the prep and if you ever get invited to a Pampered Chef party, you won't regret this purchase! No wonder it's one of their best sellers.
You'll need for 5 adults or 4 adults & 2-3 kids. (I usually freeze bolognaise x2 adult portion and x2 child portion)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
- 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
- 1 large courgette, finely chopped
- A few chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 500g extra lean mince beef, 5% fat
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- Approx 10 dashes of worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- Pinch of sugar
- 2 fat garlic cloves, crushed or chopped
- Handful of freshly chopped basil
- 425g spaghetti or your choice of pasta
Get a large, heavy bottomed saucepan on the stove. I love using my cast-iron pan. Heat the olive oil. Gently saute the onion. I tend to prep vegetables as I'm going and throw them into the pan as they are chopped. This often involves turning the heat on and off depending on how quick I am at chopping!! Next add the carrots, celery, garlic, courgettes and then the mushrooms. Keep stirring and add a little water if it looks a little dry.
Next, turn the heat up and add the mince, breaking it up with the wooden spoon and browning all over. Add the 2 tins of tomatoes. Fill one of the cans with water and add that to the pan too. Keep stirring and add the worcestershire sauce, the tomato puree, salt & pepper and pinch of sugar.
Now just leave it for a good 30 - 40 mins on a low simmer and add some freshly chopped basil at the end.
Boil your pasta in salted water according to the packet instructions. I work on the basis on 85g dried pasta per portion. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Serve up!
You can portion up the bolognaise sauce and freeze for later date
Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese for additional 1-2 PP.
WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 12
I'm on a mission to change the eating habits of my very fussy 4 year old. He starts school in September and will be having school dinners plus with our Sicilian holiday (with the family) round the corner, the boy needs to improve his table manners and start eating what we eat. Mealtimes are just so stressful so I was nervous about having a 'family meal'.
I decided it was time to relinquish some control. This evening, he had a big boy plate (the same as Mummy and Daddy's) and a knife and fork. I refrained from putting the food on his plate and allowed him to serve himself. I am terribly proud of the results. He made good attempts at cutting his food for the first time and he behaved really well eating his meal almost entirely without fussing. We all ate together and even my 1 year old wolfed down the homemade oven chips and chicken, not that I thought for 1 second my little one would have any issue!
I had to carefully consider what to cook for our family meal. Until now, family meals only happen occasionally on Sundays when I've cooked a roast, so I needed an easy mid-week meal that was tasty for the kids but didn't bust our healthy eating. Funnily enough my 4 yr old did ask where the 'orksheer' (Yorkshire) pudding was!!
I decided on BBQ chicken. I've used this recipe before (from the wonderful BBC Good Food website) for BBQ marinade and once you have thrown these storecupboard ingredients together you will never buy a bottle of BBQ marinade/sauce again! The only change I made was to reduce the oil (chicken will omit enough fat during cooking) and to use dark soy instead of light soy as it gives a lovely depth of flavour and taste.
For the Potatoes & Carrots:
- Allow 250g potato before peeling and cutting into wedges per person.
- Allow 1 carrot per person, peeled and cut into wedges.
What to do:
In a shallow dish, mix all the ingredients for the marinade together reducing the oil to 1tsp and use dark soy instead of light. Skin the chicken and make a couple of slashes. Leave to marinade for a few hours or at least 1 hour. You can BBQ or cook in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes until cooked through.
Place the prepared carrots and potatoes in a saucepan with cold salted water and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes then drain and allow to steam dry for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile heat a roasting tray in a hot oven (210 fan). Tip the potatoes and carrots back into the pan and drizzle over 2tsp olive oil and carefully toss to coat. Tip the vegetables into the hot tray and roast, turning occasionally until golden brown. (approx 30 minutes)
Serve with some greens of your choice. We enjoyed some steamed tenderstem broccoli and did not push my luck in attempting to get my 4 yr old to try some!
WeightWatchers Points per serving: 12
