Spaghetti Bolognese

I was looking for a recipe to use up some ground beef I had and knew I was craving something with an Italian flair.  I came across a recipe by Ellie Krieger that looked pretty good.  Ellie Krienger's recipes have always won over my heart  but then I read the reviews.  All 41 of them!  The majority said this was the biggest Ellie disappointment they had ever cooked; it was too dry, had no taste and tasted horrible.  Many people posted the changes they had made.  I went ahead and printed out the recipe anyway and adapted to our tastes and to use up a few pantry items.

This dish turned out phenomenal!  Another great feature is you can add or delete ingredients to suit your taste and/or pocketbook.

Here's my version:
3/4 pound thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 bell pepper, chopped 
2 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
8 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 sun dried tomatoes chopped
1 pound lean ground beef (90 to 95 percent lean)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons driend basil
2 (14 1/2-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes with juice
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz.) jar marinated artichoke hearts
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup evaporated milk or regular whole milk
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the onion, bell pepper, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Add the sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts garlic, ground beef, basil and thyme and cook until the meat is browned, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.

Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce and broth and cook for 5 minutes, or until sauce is thickened.

Stir in the milk and cook for 1 minute more. Season with sugar, salt and pepper.

Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil, cook and drain the spaghetti.

When the pasta is done, drain it, put it back in the pasta pot, add the sauce and stir the sauce and pasta together.

Put into serving bowls and top with Parmesan cheese.