Ground Turkey and Sausage Meat Sauce

It has seriously rained every single day for the past three weeks here and I’ve been going a bit stir crazy. I’m not talking about a little sprinkle here and there either…Every day around 2 pm we get slammed with a mini hurricane. Mother nature has given us this curfew it seems, and if we disobey her she retaliates by blowing us around, dumping buckets of water onto us and narrowly missing us with her impressive lightning bolts all while screaming her raging thunder!

If you’ve never been to FL in the summertime when the weather is extra bi-polar-ish than you can’t truly appreciate what I’m talking about here. I mean it when I say that at 1:45 when the sky looks lovely filled with it’s poofy cotton candy-ish clouds…don’t be fooled! By 2:15 you’re looking for Noah and his ark to float by and rescue you…

Bucatini noodles smothered in a super thick and robust ground turkey and sausage meat sauce. Comforting and delicious!

So yesterday during one of the daily monsoons I decided I needed to make something warm and comforting to make me feel better about the fact that every outdoor activity we’ve had planned for the past few weeks has been a complete bust due to the weather with no end in sight. I mean, if I’m stuck indoors in oversized sweatshirts and yoga pants, playing video games and watching Frozen a bazillion times with my daughter every afternoon I can totally splurge on a big plate-o-carbs. It’s an even trade off if you ask me…Just let it go… 😉

And what’s better than a bulky pile of Bucatini noodles a.k.a plate-o-carbs piled a mile high on your plate? Bucatini noodles smothered in a super thick and robust meat sauce, that’s what!

Here’s what you’ll need to make the sauce…{at least 6 servings} **Freezes great!

1 lb. ground turkey
1 lb. ground turkey sausage (sweet or mild)
1 large yellow onion (diced)
2 large carrots (shredded)
4 large garlic cloves (minced)
2 28oz can crushed tomatoes with herbs
1 12oz can tomato sauce
1 6oz can tomato paste
3 tablespoons balsamic vin.
Drizzle of olive oil
1 teaspoon red pep flakes
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Kosher salt and pepper
pinch of raw sugar (about a teaspoon)
2-3 Tablespoons of fresh italian herbs (I used that stuff in the tube for this)
fresh basil and shaved Pecorino to garnish

Get out a large sauté pan with lid or any pot you normally use to make sauces, set stove to medium-high
Drizzle the pan with olive oil and add in your ground turkey and sausage, with a wooden spoon break meat apart.
Continue to break the ground meat apart into small crumbles and let them brown, sprinkle with salt and pepper
Once meat is cooked add in your chopped onion, garlic, and shredded carrots, sprinkle with salt and pepper, stir.
Once meat is fully cooked and veggies are starting to soften, add in your balsamic vin to deglaze the pan, use spoon to scrape up bits at bottom.
Add in cans of crushed tomato, sauce, and paste, stir.
Add herbs, red pep flakes, and sugar, more salt and pepper (taste to see how seasoning is) and let cook on low heat- covered for 30 minutes.
Serve over your favorite hearty pasta (I’m using Bucatini here) top with plenty of salty Pecorino and sweet fresh basil.

Did it make me feel better about the weather? Totally.

But I will admit, that I’m having separation anxiety from my grill and these pork chops 🙂

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and your glorious sunny weather with a cool breeze (Yep, I’m talking to you northerners with your mini polar vortex in July!) Color me jealous 🙂

Talk to you soon friends, take care!