Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce

Rich & hearty, this homemade bolognese sauce simmers in your slow cooker all day. Just serve with rigatoni or tagliatelle for comfort food perfection. 

Well, folks... I think the start of comfort food season has officially arrived. The temps have started to drop slightly, the leaves are falling off of the trees, and I have actually had to turn on the heat a few times after waking up in the morning to a cold house. 

I know we typically think of bowls of cozy soups and cheesy casseroles as traditional comfort food, but I am about to step up your homemade comfort food game with this slow cooker recipe for an easy and flavorful bolognese sauce.

I fell in love with bolognese sauce earlier this year when my boyfriend helped to open a new Italian restaurant just north of Pittsburgh. 

There, they slow simmer their bolognese sauce on the stovetop all day and then serve it over homemade tagliatelle pasta. It quickly became my go-to pasta dish to order off the menu almost every time that I would drive up to visit my boyfriend while he was working at the restaurant.

Since I can't always make the two hour drive to the restaurant when I have a bolognese craving, I decided it was time to come up with my own homemade version of my new favorite comfort food. I did consult with the chef of the restaurant as to what his must-have ingredients are for a good, traditional sauce. 

And since I know that most of us do not have the time (nor the patience) to simmer & stir a pot of homemade bolognese over the stove all day, I decided that a slow cooker adaptation for the recipe was necessary.

Italian Style Buddha Bowl

This easy to make Italian Style Buddha Bowl is a protein packed, family pleasing weeknight dinner idea...

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Birds Eye® through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about Birds Eye®, all opinions are my own.

I have to admit it, folks. Sometimes it is a struggle to get more protein and whole grains into my and my family's diet. I try, but sometimes convenience wins out and pizza gets delivered or a trip through the fast food drive-thru happens. 

It's not that I don't want to make sure that my family is eating healthier and getting all the good stuff that they need to grow and power them through their day. But there are days when I just run out of time or energy, and oftentimes both of those things happen at the same time. 

That is why I was so glad to recently discover Birds Eye® Protein Blends at my local grocery store! These quick and easy to make Protein Blends side dishes come in four delicious flavors- Southwest Style, California Style, Italian Style, & Asian Style. 

Since Italian food is a favorite in my home, I grabbed the Birds Eye® Protein Blends Italian Style and started brainstorming a quick and tasty way that I could use it to get more whole grains, protein, and veggies into my family's diet more often. This fresh and healthy Italian Style Buddha Bowl was the family pleasing end result! :)

It starts with the Birds Eye® Protein Blends Italian Style, a delicious side dish packed with a blend of whole grains, lentils, spinach, broccoli, white beans, & a tasty sauce. Then I filled the rest of the bowl with fresh baby arugula, whole wheat penne, ripe grape tomatoes, olives, and crunchy sliced almonds. Finish it off with a drizzle of oil & vinegar or your favorite light Italian dressing, and a healthy dinner is served in minutes... 

Double Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

These tender & flavorful Double Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs simmer away in your slow cooker all day...

I was provided a product in exchange for recipe development and an honest review, and was not compensated for my review in any other way.

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I believe that every food blogger, every chef, and every home cook has a food nemesis or two. You all know what I am talking about- those dishes and recipes that just never seem to come out right no matter how many times you try it or how many methods you give a go.

You vow that you are finished. You will never, ever waste your time trying to make that dish again. If you want it bad enough, you will just resort to pre-made or take-out.

Because you are done.

Believe it or not, one of my recipe nemeses is homemade meatballs. They either come out too tough or they simply fall apart until they resemble something like more of a meat sauce.

And given my father's very Italian family, one would expect that I would just naturally and genetically rock at making meatballs from scratch. But sadly that is not the truth.

In my defense, most of the women in my father's family passed away when I was much too young to learn their recipes and family secrets. Although, my dad swears that my great grandmother would have never shared her secret recipe anyways... 

I received renewed confidence to try making homemade meatballs once again when my shiny new Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System arrived on my doorstep.  

Seriously, all. 

This was going to be my one last time, all-in, last ditch go at that them.  If I couldn't make meatballs work with this awesome piece of culinary cookware, then I was just not meant to ever make a decent from scratch meatball in my lifetime.

Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes {A Guest Recipe from Cooking on the Front Burner}

We have another fabulous pasta dish on the blog from Deb at Cooking on the Front Burner for my Birthday Week! And this is the last guest recipe for the week too, folks.  
But no sad faces!  Stay tuned for a fun and fabulous giveaway starting at midnight tonight to wrap up my Birthday Week! :) 

Hi, I'm Deb from Cooking on the Front Burner and happy to be guest posting today for Carrie as she celebrates her birthday week!!  (oh yea, birthdays should be celebrated all week in my opinion!)

I started blogging about 2 1/2 years ago as a way to keep and share recipes with family and friends.  I think I can be called a recipe-o-holic.  I love reading cookbooks as novels, subscribing to food magazines and searching other blogs for new recipes to try.  If you are a dinner guest at my place, most likely I am making something new for you to experience.  And when I'm not in the kitchen, I am probably (re)decorating my house, reading a good book or most recently spoiling our new granddaughter!

Carrie and I have been friends for awhile now and when she mentioned she loves Italian food - and since I'm Italian, I had the perfect recipe for her.  This is one my favorite ways to use fresh summer tomatoes and herbs.  We have a small garden where we only grow tomatoes, peppers and a few herbs for either Italian dishes or making salsa.

I invite you to stop on over to get the recipe and take a look around.  And another birthday wish to Carrie -thanks for having me!!  It was great spending time at your place.  Mangia!

Pasta Raccolta Estivo {A Guest Recipe from Love in the Kitchen}

Are you all ready for Day 3 of Birthday Week on the blog? :) Susan from Love in the Kitchen is stopping on over today to share her recipe for Pasta Raccolta Estivo.  She knows that Italian dishes are one of my favorites! Can't wait to dig into this one... 

Howdy Frugal Foodie Mama readers!  I'm Susan from Love in the Kitchen where I share my passion for cooking easy and tasty homemade food with fresh ingredients with you.  

Today I'm here to help Carrie celebrate her birthday Week.  {Happy Birthday Carrie!}

I know that Carrie is a fan of Italian food, and, as it is her birthday, I am sharing a wonderful pasta dish that I've created - a special one-skillet Italian dinner, made with ingredients fresh from the garden called Pasta Raccolta Estivo (aka, pasta from the summer harvest).  This is a perfect summer celebration dinner - filled with summer flavors and simple to make so you can spend time celebrating instead of slaving over a hot stove.  And with just one skillet to wash, you've got more time to eat cake!

Sound good?  Then come on over to Love in the Kitchen where I will show you how to whip up this flavorful dish in less than an hour!  I hope to see you there - and thank you Carrie for the opportunity to share this with your readers.  I hope you have a spectacular birthday!

Click on over to Love in the Kitchen to grab this recipe now! 

If you loved this recipe, you might also like my...

Summer Pomodoro Sauce

Summer Gazpacho