We were thinking about what we wanted to make with the ground lamb and remembered Giada’s Lamb Ragu with Mint. Here is our version-
Olive Oil
2 shallots
1 clove garlic
2 lbs Ground Lamb
1.25 cups of Red Wine
2 Jars Newsman Own Marinara Sauce
1/2 cup of Ricotta Cheese
Mint
Mezzo Rigatoni
1. Heat the oil, had the chopped shallots and garlic and cook until softened (about 3 minutes). Start the pasta, cook 8-10 minutes
2. Add the Lamb and brown
3. Add Wine and reduce until about half the liquid remains
4. Stir in the Marinara and reduce hit to low, simmer for 10 minutes
5. Stir in Ricotta and Mint, add salt and pepper.
6. Add in cooked pasta, stir to combine and serve immediately.
This was very hearty and delicious and would be at least $20 in a restaurant!
For some veggies I made a salad with broccoli slaw, mixed greens, currants, sunflower seeds, cucumbers, and some raw parsnips. A big bowl of beautiful veggies, my kind of salad.
Dessert was even better, I bought a Ginger Bar mix at the market and made it to enjoy after our hearty dinner and to bring a few into work. These bars are amazing! All it takes is butter and some cool water and instant party hit 
I added a tiny bit of caramel apple dip and micro waved it for 10 seconds, pure heaven.
On our way home today we stopped at The Ferndale Market to stock the freezer with meat for the upcoming weeks, today’s finds were ground turkey (3lbs), beef (1lb), lamb (2lbs), 2 year old cheddar, eggs and a Ginger Bar Mix. All of this was under $40 for all organic and grass feed meat, the cheese and the mix-
I am excited to use the Ground Lamb!
Our drive back from Madison today was beautiful! It was a very chilly start to the day and we had to scrape all the frost off the car but once we got on the road it started to warm up. Going from the 30’s to the almost 60’s buy the time we got back to Minneapolis.
Check out some of the amazing fall colors we saw on the way home, this is what I love about fall!
Friday night when we got into town we were wanting a good dinner and someone suggested Louisianne’s for some French/Creole style cuisine. They were packed and we waited quite a while for a table so we pulled up to a few spots at the bar. I ordered an Old Fashioned, a traditional Wisconsin drink made with either whisky or brandy and served with a sweet soda or sour mix. I am a brandy, sweet old fashioned drinker.
The escargot was looking very appealing and we knew it would be a bit for a table. It was really good, good balance of sauce for the snail and the puff pastry on top was a new twist and used it to soak up the remaining sauce.
We sat down and ordered right away, we were starving! I opted for the Etoufee with shrimp served on rice while Mike had the Maple Glazed Duck. Soup or salad was offered with the entree and I opted for the veggies while Mike had a Shrimp Corn Chowder.
Our service at the bar was fantastic, however once we finally sat down (30 minutes after our reservation time) our service in the dining room was a little slow but overall it was a pretty good meal!
