Surprise Surprise another pasta recipe. If you couldn’t tell, I love making anything that involves pasta.

I cut out this recipe from William Sonoma’s catalog and adapted it a bit for to make it a quick weeknight dinner. If you’ve never tried Spaghetti Bolognese before, give it a try, my kids and my husband gave it 2 thumbs up. I will be enjoying it for lunch tomorrow as well!

Again, feel free to fancy it up a bit with your own homemade sauce. I love the Classico sauces and find it a real time saver to just jazz those up a bit. The color of this sauce is a creamy red/orange. My husband was a little skeptical until he took one bite. I, of course said, I told you, you’d love it! The bacon is surprisingly really good in the sauce. It gives it a real smoky flavor. If you are tired of the same old spaghetti, this is a great way to mix it up. I will be making it again very soon. Enjoy!

Spaghetti Bolognese

12 strips uncooked bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 medium onion, diced
1 lb ground beef
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 26 oz jar Classico Pasta Sauce (or other favorite brand, or homemade)
1 ¼ Cups half and half (can also use regular milk)
¼ Cup parmesan cheese

1 Box thin spaghetti noodles (I love Barilla’s whole wheat noodles)

1. Cook bacon in a large dutch oven or large pot over medium heat until browned and crisped. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside. Discard all but 2 Tbsp’s of bacon grease. Saute onion in remaining bacon grease for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add beef, salt and pepper; crumble beef and cook until browned, about 5-8 more minutes. Stir in cooked bacon pieces. Reduce heat to low and stir in pasta sauce, half and half, and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine; cover with lid and let simmer for at least 20 minutes, or up to an hour.

2. Meanwhile cook pasta according to package directions. Spoon noodles onto a large plate and pour sauce right on top. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese if desired.

6 servings