Slow-Simmered Meat Sauce

I like to make my own meat sauce, but find I never have time to do so on the day that I actually want to use it.

So I just do it ahead of time, often on a yucky rainy day like we had today. (Considering I'll spend the rest of the day reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? a few dozen times, I feel productive when I at least make sauce...) This makes a pretty good amount of sauce, so you shouldn't need to do it very often.

Re-use some of your glass jars and use it for the next few days over spaghetti squash or in a paleo-friendly lasagna.

The Tools:

- 6 qt. crockpot

- 1 lb. ground beef or bison
- 1 onion
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 1/2 cup mushrooms
- 3 cans (14.5 oz) tomato sauce
- 2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
- 1 T oregano flakes
- 1/2 t cayenne pepper (or less, if you like your sauce milder - this amount makes a sauce with a little kick, but not a ton of heat)

The Process:

Brown the ground beef, drain the excess fat and plop it in the crockpot.

In the same skillet, saute the onion for 3-4 minutes until it's mostly translucent. Add the garlic, green bell pepper and mushroom and turn the heat to low. Let it simmer until the vegetables have softened, then dump them all in the crockpot.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the crockpot, stir well and let it simmer away for 5-8 hours on low.

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