Post by wilderness on Dec 4, 2019 9:13:16 GMT -5
Meat Lover's Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce-Birdy
www.allrecipes.com/recipe/213266/meat-lovers-slow-cooker-spaghetti-sauce/
Recipe creator here! Personally, what I think really makes the recipe is the use of sweet Italian Sausage, not ground, but links. I remove the casing and cut them in to bite size pieces. I cook that in the olive oil with onions. After several hours in the sauce, the bite size pieces are tender and have absorbed tons of flavor. This truly creates the chunky sauce. You can certainly add green peppers and I often use mushrooms. I typically use it next day to make lasagna or chicken Parmesan. Edit: The sugar isn't necessary for the taste, but it isn't there for sweetness. Tomatoes contain a lot of acidity and the addition of a little sugar balances it and creates a "smoother" sauce (salt, carrots, and baking soda help as well). Also, a fairly standard size crock pot (5-7 quarts) will work just fine. *If you're having problems with burning, you've added the sugar too early/let it simmer too long with sugar in it. Hope that helps!
8 servings
"This creates a great, chunky, and very meaty spaghetti sauce. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes!"
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
1/4 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon white sugar (optional)
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onions and Italian sausage until the sausage is browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sausage and onions to a slow cooker. In the same skillet, cook and stir the ground beef, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and marjoram, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the ground beef into the slow cooker.
Stir in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, thyme, basil, oregano, and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder. Set the cooker on Low, and cook the sauce for 8 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the sugar. Serve hot.
Comments:
This is my go-to spaghetti sauce recipe. Only thing I do different is add in fresh veggies to really stretch the sauce (shredded zucchini, shredded carrots, chopped peppers, fresh sliced mushrooms, and spinach) and I double the sausage. This is great with turkey sausage and ground turkey or chicken. This also freezes well for those who like to make big batches and freeze to thaw out on busy days. Most of these ingredients can be bought cheaply at Aldi/Grocery Outlet for very little. NOTE: Using roasted canned tomatoes is a bonus added flavor, too. Also, if you pre-spray your plastic freezer containers with non-stick spray, they'll wipe clean when ready to wash and will not be stained.
Sweet and savory often go together. Also, here's a tip for those who say the sauce was watery. Place a clean kitchen towel draped over the open crockpot and then place the lid on the pot. The towel will soak up the steam and evaporation and help with this. You can do this with other crock pot foods as well that tend to water down. In the case of this sauce, be prepared to stain the towel.
www.allrecipes.com/recipe/213266/meat-lovers-slow-cooker-spaghetti-sauce/
Recipe creator here! Personally, what I think really makes the recipe is the use of sweet Italian Sausage, not ground, but links. I remove the casing and cut them in to bite size pieces. I cook that in the olive oil with onions. After several hours in the sauce, the bite size pieces are tender and have absorbed tons of flavor. This truly creates the chunky sauce. You can certainly add green peppers and I often use mushrooms. I typically use it next day to make lasagna or chicken Parmesan. Edit: The sugar isn't necessary for the taste, but it isn't there for sweetness. Tomatoes contain a lot of acidity and the addition of a little sugar balances it and creates a "smoother" sauce (salt, carrots, and baking soda help as well). Also, a fairly standard size crock pot (5-7 quarts) will work just fine. *If you're having problems with burning, you've added the sugar too early/let it simmer too long with sugar in it. Hope that helps!
8 servings
"This creates a great, chunky, and very meaty spaghetti sauce. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes!"
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
1/4 pound bulk Italian sausage
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon white sugar (optional)
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onions and Italian sausage until the sausage is browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sausage and onions to a slow cooker. In the same skillet, cook and stir the ground beef, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and marjoram, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the ground beef into the slow cooker.
Stir in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, thyme, basil, oregano, and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder. Set the cooker on Low, and cook the sauce for 8 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the sugar. Serve hot.
Comments:
This is my go-to spaghetti sauce recipe. Only thing I do different is add in fresh veggies to really stretch the sauce (shredded zucchini, shredded carrots, chopped peppers, fresh sliced mushrooms, and spinach) and I double the sausage. This is great with turkey sausage and ground turkey or chicken. This also freezes well for those who like to make big batches and freeze to thaw out on busy days. Most of these ingredients can be bought cheaply at Aldi/Grocery Outlet for very little. NOTE: Using roasted canned tomatoes is a bonus added flavor, too. Also, if you pre-spray your plastic freezer containers with non-stick spray, they'll wipe clean when ready to wash and will not be stained.
Sweet and savory often go together. Also, here's a tip for those who say the sauce was watery. Place a clean kitchen towel draped over the open crockpot and then place the lid on the pot. The towel will soak up the steam and evaporation and help with this. You can do this with other crock pot foods as well that tend to water down. In the case of this sauce, be prepared to stain the towel.
