"Kswck" > wrote in message
et...
> 46 oz can tomatoe juice
> 12 oz can tomatoe paste
> 24 oz can whole tomatoes-fresh tomatoes if in season
> 2 cups onions-chopped
> 3-4 cloves garlic minced
> 6 tblsp dried parsley
> 2-3 tblsp oil
> 2-3 bls 90% ground beef
> 2-3 4oz cans mushrooms
>
> Combine oil, onions, garlic. Fry till translucent. Brown meat in separate
> pan, drain. Add everything to pot and bring to boil. Lower to simmer,
> stirring frequently. At each stir, cover the top of the pot with either
> dried basil or oregano(both home dried). An hour and a half later,
> serve-although it tastes better the next day-over pasta.
> Works well with sausage as well, if taken from the casings.
>
>

Well, you said that you wanted opinions ... I can't imagine why you are
using 46 oz of tomato juice. Ditto canned mushrooms. Ditto dried parsley or
dried basil. These are the herbs least conducive to drying successfully.
Where's the wine and the carrots and celery? The addition of a nice mild
Italian sausage would certainly help as would proscuitto or pancetta. I also
like to simmer the meats in milk after reducing them in wine and before
adding any tomatoes or tomato paste. Sauté sliced fresh mushrooms in olive
oil or butter and add towards the end of the simmering time.

I'd definitely take a pass on the recipe as written. I've posted my version
of a tomato meat sauce in the past and I've included a shortened version of
it below.

3 tbl EV olive oil
4 oz pancetta diced
2 medium yellow onions minced
2 stalks celery with leaves minced
2 carrots minced
3 to 5 cloves garlic minced
8 oz ground veal
8 oz boneless pork loin or mild Italian sausage (casings removed)
8 oz ground beef skirt steak
2 to 4 oz prosciutto di parma, diced
1 1/4 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups home made poultry/meat stock
2 cups milk
2 to 3 28 oz cans of whole plum tomatoes with juice

S & P
fresh or oregano and rosemary
3 to4 tbl double concentrate tomato paste

The tricks to making a nice bolognese is to take time and care in browning
the
meat, slowly adding the meat /poultry stock and simmering in milk which
sweetens the meat.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil and when hot
add
the diced pancetta, onions, celery, carrots and garlic and sauté until the
onions begin to color, stirring frequently. This should take about 10
minutes. At this point I stir in some fresh or dried herbs.

Lower the heat to medium and add the meat . The next step is fairly
critical you want to brown the meat stirring frequently and breaking it up.
Initially it will give off liquid and then turn an ugly shade of gray. Once
all of the liquid evaporates the meats will begin to brown and the meat will
begin to form a glaze on the bottom of the pan. You want a glaze to form but
not to burn so you need to scrap and stir the meat. Turn down the heat if
necessary. You need to brown the meat for about 15 minutes *after* all of
the
liquid has evaporated until the ground meats are a deep brown. Remove the
contents to a strainer and drain out excess fat if you want to lighten the
cholesterol load. Add the wine to the skillet
and deglaze the pan, scrapping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Reduce the wine by half and add to a large pot along with the drained meats
and vegetables. Reduce until wine is almost completely evaporated.

Add 1/2 cup of the stock to the pot with the meats and simmer until the
stock
evaporates, stirring occasionally. Then add another 1/2 cup of stock and
simmer gently until this also evaporates. It should take about 10 minutes
per
half cup to disappear. Add the last half cup stock along with all of the
milk. Partially cover the pot and let simmer gently for at least one hour or
until almost all of the milk has been absorbed my the meat.
Checking occasionally to make sure the meats aren't sticking to the bottom
of
the pan. Add the tomatoes, crushing them as you put them in the pan, and
about half the juice. If you like tomato flavor add some concentrated tomato
paste as well. Reserve the remainder of the juice and add some to the pot if
things begin to look dry and simmer for about one more hour. Season with
salt
and pepper.

Enjoy!

Kate