Pasta with Ground Pork and Broccoli

This is my first post with step by step photos!  Yay, let's celebrate with some yummy food.  I am a huge fan of pasta and how versatile it is.  Typically, I mix whatever I want into it and add herbs and spices to enhance my store-bought sauces.

Since I've participated in the farm share program locally, I've been getting a bunch of tomatoes.  I am not a fan of having tomatoes raw or anything so there's only one surefire way to cook 'em--pasta sauce!  Mmm!

So, let's get started.

Meat Sauce Ingredients (total prep: around 30 minutes)
- a few cloves of garlic (minced)
- one shallot (minced)
- a few stalks of broccoli (chopped up small)
- two medium-sized tomatoes (chopped)
- white wine
- some marinara sauce
- 1/4 lbs ground pork
- seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, powder, basil, etc)
- milk
- Parmesan cheese

Other:
- Your choice of pasta (this one was elbows)
- Olive oil

I had precooked my pasta (in this case, elbows!) and my ground pork so this was a fairly quick affair.  I chopped up the garlic, shallots, and broccoli first, leaving the messier tomatoes for last.  Heat up your pan to medium heat and add some olive oil.  I recently bought a new hard-anodized set from KitchenAid and I love it!  Works wonderfully.  I am using the 3-qt saute pan here.

First, I start by frying the garlic and shallots until fragrant.  Love the smell of these sizzling in the pan!

Meanwhile, I prep the tomatoes.  I sliced off the tops and bottoms and the skin.  Then I cut slices, which I then proceeded to chop into small pieces.

Next, add the broccoli in.

Once the broccoli has softened, throw in the tomatoes.

Add a few tablespoons of white wine.  Let it simmer for about 5 minutes.  At this point, I am also squishing the larger pieces of tomato smaller.

Now here's when I add in a dollop of the store-bought sauce.  I used Prego's pesto marinara for this one.  The reason why I use this is because I don't have any tomato paste or a food processor to make a finer sauce.

My boyfriend is picky about the flavor of the sauce so I always alter it with a bit of milk or whipped cream.  In this case, I added a splash of whole milk and some Parmesan cheese.  I also add my seasonings to taste.  I love adding garlic powder and basil for flavor in addition to regular salt and pepper.

Now because I have already precooked the ground pork, I add it in now and mix up the sauce.

Cover and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes to let the sauce really thicken up.

Check for a nice, even mix and consistency.  Oh, look at that steaminess~

Once you feel that the sauce is done (give it a taste!), you can add in the pasta directly to mix it up.

I love elbow macaroni since they're bite-sized!  I give the pasta a good toss to distribute the sauce.  And there you have it--a hearty bowl of pasta with meat sauce!