Ragu Raving over Penne

Rita~'s Note:

This thick and hearty Bolognese will have your family and guests raving how great a cook you are. Comfort food that will warm your bones. Good to make for Halloween. take the children trick or treating check in, empty the candy bags, give a stir and go back out for more knowing the treat you'll be back home for..... When chilled arrive home for a hot yummy dinner that everyone will LOVE! Makes a lot of sauce so great to freeze leftovers for a later day.

• Total Time: 5 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 5 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 4 slices lean bacon
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 cup sliced button mushroom
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 4 -6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 celery rib, diced (1/2 cup)
• 4 tablespoons mixed Italian herbs
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup red wine (optional)
• 20 ounces Rotel Tomatoes, pureed
• 20 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• kosher salt
• fresh cracked black pepper
• freshly grated parmesan cheese, to taste
• 1 -2 tablespoon butter
• 4 fresh basil leaves
• 1 lb penne pasta, cooked according to directions
• freshly grated parmesan cheese, to taste
• red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions:

1. Cooked bacon till crisp, draining and discard grease. Crumble and place in crock-pot with remaining ingredients except for salt, pepper, pasta, cheese, butter and basil.
2. Mix everything together so ingredients are all incorporated.
3. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Stir when you can.
4. Before serving adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and add additional Italian seasonings to your taste to refresh the herbiness. ;) Add butter and fresh basil and mix in for extra richness and freshness.
5. Plate pasta and pour sauce over it then top with cheese and pepper flakes.

Reviews

[CIndytc]

Wow this was a great ragu sauce...I added a little shredded carrots to it to sweeten it up some..
you would never know if was healthy for you.

[2Bleu]

5 Stars for flavor! This sauce is truly delicious. It's very hearty with great ingredients that we love. The recipe did not state to cook covered or not, so we covered it and wound up having to add a bit of tomato paste to thicken it up before serving. We felt the intro mentioning 'Halloween' did not follow any reasoning as it's not a dish specifically designed to that holiday. Overall, although we had to add tomato paste to thicken up the sauce, the flavor is wonderful. :)