Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The BEST Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

The BEST Crock pot Spaghetti Sauce!
I made this spaghetti sauce yesterday and right after the first bite Shawn asked me if I had written it down yet.  He's such a good husband! (It couldn't just be that he wants to make sure he gets to eat this again, could it?)  I appreciate his praise and his reminders!
This spaghetti sauce turned out spicy and as Shawn described it, the perfect blend between sweet, spicy and Italian flavorings.  It's rich and thick and SOOO easy to make!  I used to doctor up Prego, but now I'm sticking with this recipe! (At least when I can remember to put it in the crock pot first thing in the morning.)
I was able to use our own onions, garlic, and green pepper in this recipe.  I never got around to drying any of our basil this year.  The green pepper was diced and frozen in vacuum packed bags.  The garlic, I keep in a paper bag in my pantry.  The onions are kept in a box in grandma's basement where it's cool, but not cold.



The BEST Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:
1 lb. package of Jimmy Dean Italian Sausage
1 green pepper, chopped
1 (preferably sweet) onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic
2 cans Italian style stewed tomatoes (I think Italian style diced tomatoes would work as well)
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can  tomato paste (6 oz.)
3 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons Italian Seasoning (I recommend Ricky and Lucy's Italian Seasoning Blend, everything is grown just a few miles away from here, fresh, organic, hand picked...awesome!)
2 teaspoons dried basil (Again, use Ricky and Lucy's Basil Blend)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (If you don't use large grained kosher salt, start!  But if you insist on that iodized small grain stuff, you may need to reduce the salt to 1/2 - 3/4 tsp.)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
When you are ready to serve, prepare some Hot Cooked Spaghetti (Ricky and Lucy's sells this too, but I've never tried it) (Don't buy cheap off brand spaghetti, the difference in taste is not worth it.  Costco sells a good one)

Directions:
In a large skillet (I prefer my iron skillet for browning meat) over medium high heat, brown the sausage.  Make sure you actually brown some of it, not just cook till no longer pink.  Carmelization=Flavor
Transfer to a 5 qt. slow cooker.  Stir in all of the remaining ingredients except the hot cooked spaghetti. Break up the stewed tomatoes into bite size pieces while stirring.
Cover and cook on high for about 6 hours.  The onions should be translucent when done.  Note:  The sauce will not taste as sweet when it's finished as when you first mix it together.  Taste and adjust for seasonings as desired.  Enjoy!

Please let me know if you try this recipe and if you like it!

Kelly
Click here for printable version of this recipe.