This is my fast and easy go to meal when I am sick of the same old stuff or in a hurry. It is nice to throw together on a Sunday night then just warm it up during the week in the slow cooker. It is not too sweet or sour, and it has just the right mix of veggies and seasonings. Start with 1 tablespoon of chili powder, then add more if you prefer more heat! If you are worried about the cooking wine and serving this to children, NO WORRIES! The alcohol cooks out! If you are wondering why this is in the pasta category, read to the bottom to find out.

If you don’t eat beef, this taste good with ground turkey or ground chicken. I have tried it all 3 ways. The chicken was by far my favorite though.

Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) petite diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup Holland House Red Wine Vinegar (Print and Save $.50 now!)
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 to 3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 1-1/2 lbs. lean ground beef, chicken or turkey)
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 3 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. dried leaf oregano
• 1/2 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, red wine vinegar, ketchup and brown sugar.
2. Stir together to dissolve the sugar. Set it to the side.
3. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, combine your ground beef with the remaining ingredients.
4. Cook it over high heat for 8 to 10 minutes
5. You want to make sure that you don’t have big chunks of ground beef so I used a spatula and just “chop it” as I turn the meat.
6. If you aren’t using a lean meat, at this point you will want to drain off the grease and return it to the skillet.
7. Stir in the tomato mixture that you prepared earlier
8. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
9. Serve in buns or even over hot cooked pasta! It is delicious like this.
10. Makes 5 1/2 cups. Depending on how you like your buns piled, you can get 6 to 10 sandwiches from this.