Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce... Two Ways

You can probably put any spaghetti sauce into the slow cooker.  I don't know why I hadn't thought of doing this before, but I just did it for the first time pretty recently.  The photo above is my Mom's spaghetti sauce recipe after cooking in the crock pot.  I'll post that recipe first, and under it, an Allrecipes recipe for a meaty slow cooker spaghetti sauce.  This is great for days when you have a lot going on in the evenings!  The second photo is of Meaty Spaghetti Sauce from AR. 

My Mom's Spaghetti Sauce (Slow Cooker)
from my Mom

1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3 15-oz. cans tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
pepper, to taste
salt, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 1 Tablespoon dried)
Hot cooked spaghetti noodles or other pasta

1.  Brown ground beef with onion and garlic in large sauce pan.  Continue cooking until beef is no longer pink; drain any extra fat.

2.  To your slow cooker, add beef mixture and tomato sauce along with the rest of ingredients, except spaghetti noodles. Cover and cook on Low for 5-8 hours.  Remove bay leaf.  Taste and add salt, if needed. Serve over hot cooked spaghetti; garnish with Parmesan.

Meaty Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
from Allrecipes

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 teaspoon white sugar

1.  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.            

2.  Stir the tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, thyme, basil, oregano, and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder into the slow cooker.  Set the cooker on Low, and cook the sauce for 8 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the sugar. Serve hot.               

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