My cooker has been in a week, and the only thing I have yet to test drive is the grill, though I used the top oven for my makeshift cottage pie.
Most meals are still cooked on the hob, and today’s was no exception.
I made a spaghetti bolognese, something we haven’t had for a while and it was a bit risky with fresh tomatoes and garlic for Hubby’s digestive system. Still, we need to try these things as a process of elimination if nothing else.
My ingredients were
150g lean minced beef
1 small onion
2 fresh tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 chicken stock cube
Squirt of tomato puree
Spaghetti to suit your appetite, cooked as per package instructions.
Optional:
grated mature cheddar and italian herbs
As always, I cooked the mince first in a little water, draining off the excess liquid and giving Maggie a spoonful of the meat in her bowl.
I chopped the tomatoes, onion and garlic and threw them in the pan with the stock cube and tomato puree, turned down the heat and stirred it to make sure it didn’t catch on the bottom.
When everything was cooked, I served the spaghetti and put my mix on the top, then garnished both portions with grated cheese. I added a sprinkling of herbs to mine as we know they definitely disagree with Hubby now.
It’s the best one I’ve made for a long time, and I mean years.
I don’t know whether it was fresh tomatoes, garlic, portion size, or what, but it was an adequate serving, filling, tasty and extremely satisfying.
Note:
I am feeling very positive today and much more content within myself.
This could be down to a number of things: more rested and settled because Mum’s ashes have been scattered, more confident now that I have a cooker that works and one I’m familiar with, I made some cards yesterday which went very well, and having unpacked and disposed of the final packing boxes, we are officially ‘moved in’ (you have to have seen The Incredibles to understand that line).
These past twelve months have taken a toll on both of us. Hopefully now we’ve turned a corner, though Hubby is beginning to feel the beginnings of an acid tummy so we guess the fresh tomatoes probably weren’t such a good idea afterall.
pensitivity101 
Would tinned tomatoes be easier to digest? I get some reflux with tomato products too so I usually take an antacid after the meal. Sounds like you are happy and feeling “moved in.” 🙂
Hi Kate.
I usually use tinned tomatoes as they’ve been peeled and cooked, but I had some in the fridge that needed to be used. As we are growing our own again, it will be interesting to see how things go. It could have been the puree or the garlic, or a combination of all of them. Hubby has ant acids as well as his reflux meds, but surprisingly a bowl of museli sorted it all out!
Indeed, I do feel more settled, and despite this cold, sleeping better.