Spaghetti is one food that we rarely have at my house. I’m not sure why, because it is super easy and everyone likes it. I just never think of it. My boys had been asking for it, so I put it on the menu for the week. Then I proceeded to scour my cookbooks looking for a new recipe to try. Because I can’t use the stuff in the can when there are so many recipes out there just waiting to be discovered. I know, I need intervention. 🙂
I adapted a crock pot recipe I found in a magazine and it turned out even better than I expected. My family LOVED this spaghetti. I was a little worried that they would think the carrots were funky, but they didn’t even notice them. I couldn’t even taste them and I knew they were there. I love it when you can sneak vegetables in under the radar!
This makes a fairly large batch, so we froze half of it. My hubbie was putting it in the freezer and I asked him to make sure and put a label on it. When I opened the freezer this morning, I smiled when I saw what he wrote. The label read: “Spaghetti Sauce (Awesome!)”. So I know it is a keeper!
Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce
1 # hamburger
1/2-1# Italian sausage
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 small green pepper, finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup finely diced or grated carrots
5 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp ground sage
1 tsp dry parsley flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Brown hamburger and sausage in a skillet. Drain fat and transfer to a 5 qt crock pot. Add remaining ingredients and cook on LOW for about 8 hours. Serve over hot spaghetti noodles.
Notes:
-This can also be made on the stove. Just add a cup of water and simmer in a large pot for 1-2 hours. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.
-If you have picky eaters at your house, you could grate the carrots. They pretty much disintegrate and no one would even know. It would be our little secret.
Lisa
February 3, 2013 at 10:37 amVery tasty recipe…easy to play around ( increase/decrease/add to ) with the spices. Thank you for sharing 🙂
denise
July 1, 2012 at 8:15 amJust put this in the crock pot. I put half the amount of sage in it and I’m still concerned about the strong smell/taste of it. Does it even out?
Kara
July 2, 2012 at 7:45 amYep, don’t worry, it isn’t overpowering at all. With all of the other spices in there, everything just blends together perfectly. 🙂