Slow Cooker Pasta Sauce

You know those days when you just don't want your stove on all day, yet you want a yummy, slow simmering pasta sauce to serve over spaghetti? You know what I mean. That's right. Well, why not just start the sauce in a frying pan (onions, peppers, garlic and meat), then throw that and the rest of the ingredients into your slow cooker and let it just simmer all day. Well, for about 4 hours, in my case. The house smells yummy and the small amount of prep work is so well worth it. Well, if that's what you are looking to do, look no further. This recipe can be tweaked to your liking. It's basic and uses ingredients you can easy find and might already have in your cupboards. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. 

Slow Cooker Pasta Sauce

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

1 lb ground chicken (ground beef, if you prefer) 

2 mild Italian sausages, casings removed

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 large green pepper

1 teaspoon (or more) jarred minced garlic, or 4 or 5 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon dried basil

2 Tablespoons dried oregano 

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Sauté the onions and green pepper in oil in a non-stick frying pan for about 5 minutes, just to get them starting to cook. Add the ground chicken (or beef) and the Italian sausages to the onions and peppers.  Chop up the meat as it cooks (with a spatula), breaking up any big chunks so it cooks evenly. Add the garlic, basil, oregano and black pepper to the pan and stir until throughly mixed. Let it cook for about 5 minutes. Pour this meat mixture into your slow cooker. 

Add these remaining ingredients to the slow cooker: 

1 - 700ml (almost 3 cups in imperial measures) jar of your favourite spaghetti sauce (in this case I used Catelli Garden Select Parmesan & Romano as it was lower in sodium)

1 large can no-salt diced tomatoes

1 398ml (medium) can no-salt tomato sauce

1 tablespoon sugar (yep)

1/4 cup oat bran (the fine stuff, used in muffins and eaten as hot cereal) I used this to thicken sauces. 

1/4 cup (or more) grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese

Stir all these ingredients together and simmer in your slow cooker for about 4 hours on high (if you are home for the day) or 6 hrs on the low setting. I know it says to not check on food in the slow cooker but, in this case, stir the sauce once every hour (if you are home) to help all the ingredients marry and to make sure your sauce is not sticking to the crock pot. 

Enjoy the sauce over your favourite pasta or use it in your lasagne recipe. You won't be dissapointed!