The fall weather took over this past week, which put me in the mood to use my crock pot. There is nothing better than a warm home filled with the aroma of something simmering or stewing in a slow cooker on a cool day.
I decided to come up with a new spaghetti sauce that all three of us (me, my husband, and my 9 month old) could enjoy. This meant omitting one of my favorite ingredients, crushed red pepper. I'm not sure my daughter is ready for such spicy food, although she has quite a broad palate for a baby (she loves my chili!) :-)
I picked up some ingredients at Trader Joe's (one of my favorite grocery stores), and got to work! Here is what I used:
Trader Joe's sweet pork sausage (large hot dog-sized links, and I squeezed the sausage out of the casings)
2/3 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh garlic
One organic red pepper
One organic yellow pepper
8 organic white mushrooms
One can of stewed tomatoes (already had in the pantry, not from TJ's)
1/8 cup olive oil
One can of organic tomato sauce (not from TJ's)
One can of organic diced tomatoes
One TBSP brown sugar
1/2 tspn oregano
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
First, squeeze the pork sausage out of the casings into a hot skillet. Cook the meat, drain the grease, then set the meat aside.
Chop up the red and yellow peppers and mushrooms and set aside.
Use a food processor to finely chop the garlic and basil together (if you don't have a food processor, just chop them up as finely as you can with a knife). Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil, turn it on medium heat, and add the garlic/basil mixture to the olive oil.
About one minute later, add the chopped up peppers and mushrooms.
While the veggies are cooking, be sure to use a spatula to mix and turn them so they don't burn.
Add all of the tomatoes to the food processor and mix for about 10 seconds. Pour the mixture into the same skillet. Add one TBSP of brown sugar and stir it all together. Add the sausage.
Now, everything is in one skillet simmering together. You should continue to turn and mix as it cooks. Add salt and pepper and taste as you go. You can also add some oregano to taste.
After about five more minutes, transfer it all into your slow cooker. Turn it on the low setting and cover. Simmer for 6-8 hours.
I served it over whole wheat angel hair, and added a side salad of mixed greens, cucumbers, strawberries, toasted almonds, and a white balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing. Delicious! (I would have definitely preferred more of a kick, but like I mentioned earlier, I wanted my daughter to be able to eat it. For a spicier version, add 1 TBSP of crushed red pepper to the sauce while it is simmering on the stove. I also would have added a chopped up yellow onion, but I forgot to buy one and wasn't running to the store for just one item!)
.JPG)
