Beef Bolognese with Penne

Ingredients:

- 4-6 pieces of center-cut bacon, chopped

- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1/2 lb ground Italian sausage, bison, or lean pork

- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
- 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
- 1/3 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic

- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1/2 cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
- 1/3 cup beef broth
- 2/3 cup dry red wine

- 1 can (14.5 oz) unsalted diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, optional

Directions:

Place bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute 5 minutes or until bacon begins to crisp.

Add ground beef and sausage/pork/bison to pan. Cook 6 minutes or until partly browned, stirring to crumble. Remove mixture from pan.

Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Saute 4 minutes. Add tomato paste; saute 1 minute. Add chicken stock, beef broth, and red wine; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

Return beef mixture to pan. Stir in tomatoes, pepper, and salt.

Serve Bolognese sauce over cooked penne pasta. Garnish with parsley, if desired.