Cold Weather Recipe

This past weekend was beyond crazy. I didn't get even close to all the things I needed to accomplish, much less hoped to accomplish, so I'm taking the easy way out with today's blog.

I'm sharing one of my family's favorite cold weather recipes. Hope you all enjoy it as much as we do.

Crock Pot Hamburger Pasta

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 15oz jar of marinara sauce
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 beef bouillon cubes, crumbled (I use the Herb-Ox brand)
2 tablespoons sugar
salt & pepper to taste
1 lb rigatoni pasta (Penne & elbow pasta works well too.)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

Over medium high heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic in a skillet until beef and onions are thoroughly cooked. Transfer meat mixture to the crock pot. Add the marinara sauce, tomatoes, all the seasonings listed above, sugar, and the beef bouillon cubes. Make sure to remember to crumble the cubes before adding them.  Stir everything together until it's well mixed. Add salt & pepper to taste. Cover with lid and cook for 6 hours on low heat setting.

Within the last hour to 45 minutes of the above cooking time, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and at the 6 hour mark mentioned above, add the pasta to the meat mixture and stir well. Add the cheese and stir to combine. Replace the lid and cook on high heat setting for 30 minutes. Stir once more and serve.

Serves 8