Pasta with meat, mushrooms, & tomatoes

Still in the pot before being ladled into our dinner bowls.

This pasta dish was inspired by a simple recipe that I complicated a bit. It called for pancetta, which I didn't have, but I did have bacon, which I used. I also had some ground beef and mushrooms that I wanted to sauté, so I ended up cooking everything in a pan instead of the oven, contrary to the original recipe. The gf wanted to add some spinach, so I said, why not? I forgot to get parsley, so it was the perfect green substitute.

I basically sautéed each ingredient separately, beginning with the meat, getting rid of the rendered animal fat, then the mushrooms, and then onions and garlic. I then put them all back into the pan with some grape tomatoes before adding them to the pasta.

All ingredients combined after being sautéed separately
before being mixed with the pasta. 

We washed it down with this inexpensive red from Trader Joe's.

This is the simple recipe that gave me the idea. When I make this dish again, I'll definitely add some parsley, and someday I'd like to try the original version with the pancetta heated in the oven with the onions and the tomatoes.