Slow cooker Spaghetti Sauce

Have you ever noticed the longer you cook spaghetti sauce, the better it is?  I had this brilliant idea, why not cook it in the slow cooker?  So I tried it, and guess what, IT WAS AMAZING!

Ingredients

10 roma tomatoes

1 large onion

half of a bag of baby carrots

6 cloves of garlic

1.5 lbs lean ground beef

1 can of organic crushed tomatoes

salt

pepper

Italian seasoning

garlic powder

1 tablespoon sugar

This is not a recipe that you have to precisely measure.  I use fresh ingredients and it is incredible!

I start out with a layer of Roma tomatoes, cut in half.   

I season my sauce in layers.  Salt the tomatoes directly, this will help them break down.

Layer chopped onion, a finely chopped carrots, 6 cloves of garlic-chopped, then season liberally with salt, pepper, sugar and italian seasoning.

I 'sprinkle' my ground beef on the top of the veggie layers.  Then, salt and pepper and give a little sprinkle of garlic powder to this layer also.  This recipe makes a full slow cooker of sauce, it is going to take a considerable amount of seasoning.  Lastly, pour the can of crushed tomatoes over the meat.  As the sauce cooks, the flavors will begin to mix.

Cook on high for 6-8 hours.  When you initially look at the sauce, it will not look like sauce.  You will see the meat on top.  Once you give it a quick stir, it will quickly come together.

I typically place all the ingredients in my slow cooker the night before and put it in the fridge.  In the morning, I just pull it out, put it in the base and turn it on.  Then, when I get home, I give it a quick stir.  If you are finding your sauce to be a little acidic, you can stir in a tsp of baking soda a few minutes prior to serving.

Another tip, instead of boiling noodles, why not just throw them in the pot?  As long as there is adequate liquid (you have to just eyeball it, but add a couple of cups of water), you can toss them right in the pot and let them hang out for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!