"Bolognese" Kimmie Style

Almost always, whenever Publix has a sale on Morningstar products (such as a Buy 1, Get 1), I jump on it. In this case, I went and purchased a few Morningstar Crumbles packages, mainly because if I am feeling froggy, I mix it up with some sauce and Quinoa or use it in stuffed peppers, etc. But in this instance, I wanted to make a Bolognese of sorts.



As you can see, I have a Mirepoix of sorts. I guess you can say it was more Louisiana style because I substituted a bell pepper for the celery. I'm not a huge fan of celery, only when making chicken stock. So I have a white onion, bell pepper, carrot, and half of a Hungarian Wax Pepper (seeds included). I also have Gluten Free/Wheat Free pasta (which, surprisingly, I found at Walmart for $2 and change) and a package of crumbles.

I did cook the Mirepoix in some extra virgin olive oil in a large saute pan and set aside, and then cooked the crumbles for a bit. Seasoning wise, I usually add rosemary, cumin, salt (not much), pepper, and oregano to the crumbles. It usually gives it a breakfast sausage like smell. I then combined the ingredients together, cooked for a bit and added some spaghetti sauce. I used the Heart Healthy sauce by Prego, I did not make my own sauce this time. I cooked the "bolognese" for a little over an hour, if you cook it too long the crumbles tend to break down and become a little mushy.

Ingredients (added while the mixture was cooking):
 - Soy Sauce
 - Fried Garlic
 - Worcestershire Sauce
 - Tomato Paste
 - Sriracha

Notes:
 - I did enjoy the Gluten Free/Wheat Free pasta. It cooks rather fast, but you do need to watch it and stir frequently because the pasta does stick together. It's a lot healthier for you too, if you are craving pasta but not wanting to dive off the deep end.
 - Overall it was good, obviously you can tinker with the ingredients used, but for a quick "meat" sauce, not bad.

Best I've Ever Had...Sloppy Joes that is.

Because I eat a good amount of meat at work, I like to cook a decent amount of vegetarian style dishes at home on my off days (if I have them). Last week I decided I wanted sloppy joes but with no beef, pork, or anything of a meat nature but I still wanted that meaty component. So I chose to add meatless crumbles and of course beans and mushrooms, which are a vegetarians best friend.

Below is an ingredient list:
- 1 pkg. of meatless crumbles (I like the Morningstar because they are usually semi or all the way unfrozen and that just leads to a more even thawing process)
- Rainbow carrots (if you live in Florida, Publix has finally had a genius moment and introduced smaller portions of various veggies/cheeses and has these guys in that section)
- Sweet Onion (yellow onion)
- Garlic
- 1 Scotch Bonnet
- 1 can of small red beans
- Bok Choy (I personally don't care for celery because it's stringy and breaks down too easily, bok choy holds itself very well and I like the leaves too, that is of course if you use them)
- 1 pkg. Bella mushrooms
- 1 orange pepper
- 1 large can of Dei Fratelli tomato sauce (I do enjoy San Marzano but they aren't always available at certain stores or affordable for some people)
- Tomato paste (if you are lazy and don't use it often then get the can, but the tube works great and you can put in whatever amount you like and put the rest in the fridge)
-Ketchup (I only use Heinz)
-Worcestershire Sauce
- Sriracha
- Various spices (pepper, flakes, cumin, chili powder, whatever fits your fancy). You can use salt if you like, but I only used a pinch when I was sweating the onions and mushrooms.

I cooked the "meat" and then put it on a paper towel to dry. I then took the onions and sweated them a little bit and then added the garlic and mushrooms and the peppers. After this, I then added the liquids and the beans and threw the "meat" back in. I just let it simmer for 20-30 minutes until everything was incorporated and then served over a whole wheat bun.

As with anything, I, like most people, read a bunch of people's recipes and make my own making substitutions here and there. But these are the ingredients I used and the method I used to cook.