Spaghetti Bolognaise

Ingredients: 
500g mince meat
1 x large (white or red) onion// or 2 x small onions
2 x garlic cloves
1 x tin tomatoes
1 squeeze tomato paste
1 x pepper (red or yellow)
olive oil
honey (or tea spoon of sugar)
1 x beef stock cube
pinch of salt
black pepper
dried rosemary
dried basil
dried oregano
sherry (optional)
1 x handful of spaghetti (or two handful's of pasta shapes)

Utensils: 
chopping board,
sharp knife
2 x sauce pan,
wooden spoon
colander

Time
prep = 10 minutes
cooking = 35 minutes


Method
1. Heat table spoon of oil in saucepan over a medium heat. Wait for saucepan to heat up. Check by putting hand in pan and checking it is hot. Add minced meat. Cook until throughly browned. No pink bits.

2. As meat is cooking, finely chop onion & garlic. Chop peppers.

3. When meat is cooked drain over sink in the colander. Put to one side.

4. Put a glug oil in saucepan. Heat over a medium heat. Wait for saucepan to heat up. Add chopped onions, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, basil, oregano. Cook until onions re soft and transparent. You may need to add  bit more oil to avoid the onions sticking. 5 minutes

5. Add chopped peppers. Cook until soft. 5 minutes

6. As peppers are cooking, open tin of tomatoes. Using the knife, chop the tomatoes whilst still in the tin.

7. When peppers are cooked, add tomatoes, big squeeze of tomato paste, table spoon of honey or sugar,  beef stock cube and glug of sherry if using.

8. Stir in cooked mince. If mixture is thick add a small amount of water. Leave on medium heat for 15 minutes.

9. Boil kettle. Stir bolognaise. Wash knife and chopping board and surfaces.

10. After the 15 minutes, add boiling water to second saucepan on high heat. Add a pinch of salt. Make sure water is at a rolling boil before adding spaghetti. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes. If using other pasta may need to be longer (check packet).

11. Check pasta is cooked. Drain in colander. Add butter or olive oil in colander though you don't need it.

12. Serve pasta on plate. Ladle bolognaise sauce onto pasta (one person)

13. There may be some left over. Ladle into freezer/ cooker safe container straight away. Leave to cool before adding to freezer otherwise you will defrost the freezer. Put bolognaise saucepan in sink and wash while still hot, don't leave to go crusty as it will be more difficult to clean.

Variations

• You can add finely chopped courgettes, fresh tomatoes, to sauce before cooking down. 
• You could add freshly chopped rosemary, basil and oregano before serving. 
• You could add a glug of red wine into sauce before cooking down. 
• Can be served with rice or chunky bread. 
• If you have left overs and have used pasta shapes, mix both together before freezing. When you cook it you could add a cheese sauce on top.
• For vegetarian friends miss out meat and add a tin of beans (haricot beans, butter beans, kidney beans or washed baked beans) to the sauce when adding the tin of tomatoes 

Notes
The sauce can be the basis of a range of recipes: lasagne, chilli, curry.