Dairy-free Crockpot Vodka Bolognese Pasta

Who doesn't love a good bolognese? This one is super easy, hearty, delicious, and accommodates those who are living the dairy free lifestyle.  I am living the dairy free life right now, as my youngest daughter has an intolerance and I am currently nursing her. Also, it includes vodka, so it feels extra fancy right? The vodka adds a little extra bite to balance out the sweetness of the tomatoes, but if you don't want to use vodka you can easily swap it out for water or beef broth. Ready?

*This is a large meal meant for a group of 6 people, or a smaller family who enjoys leftovers!

What you will need:

• 1 medium shallot 
• 1 medium yellow onion 
• 3 carrots 
• 2 pounds ground beef
• salt & pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• a spoon full of minced garlic
• 3/4 cup of vodka
• 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 6oz can of tomato paste

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. 
2. Chop your shallot, yellow onion, and carrots while this is heating and then add it to your skillet.

    3. Let those veggies sizzle in there for about 5 minutes before adding your ground beef.

   4. Cook the ground beef up thoroughly. Brown it up!!
   5. Transfer your mixture to the crockpot once it is done.
   6. Add your tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, vodka, and seasonings.

7. Mix that all together and turn your crockpot to low for 8 hours8. Once that is almost done, boil your pasta (I used linguine, but you can use whatever you want)

9. Now you're done and you can top your pasta with the bolognese sauce I paired mine with a random red wine my husband brought home and it was perfect!