Spaghetti Sauce and A Crack in the Meal Plan (a Jess post)

Monday night, as per my meal plan, I made pasta sauce in the crock pot. It was the first time I ever made it that way and it is now the only way I will make it. Letting it simmer on low for hours and hours reduced it to a thick, flavorful masterpiece. Unlike Cory, I do like a few chunks so I used the following recipe:

1/2 lb bulk Italian sausage (I used chicken sausage left over from last week's broccoli rabe)
1 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 T jarred chopped garlic
1 29 oz can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes in their juice
1 12 oz can tomato paste
1 t organic beef Better than Boullion, dissolved in 1 c hot water
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t each garlic powder, basil, Italian seasoning, & oregano
1 T Parmesan cheese (I actually used an herbed Romano cheese blend)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

I brown the sausage with the onions, pepper & garlic in the olive oil. Once the sausage has crumbled and cooked through and the vegetables have softened, I put them with all the remaining ingredients in the crockpot for about 4 hours on high.

I generally use red wine instead of the balsamic vinegar, but I was looking for a bit of a bite to the flavor this time and I really liked how it turned out. I will sometimes also use ground beef or meatballs instead of sausage and ripe plum tomatoes, mushrooms, and more peppers (when I'm not cooking for Drew).

That recipe is based on the one my mom and I put together when I was about 8 or 9. In fact, my mom's copy entitled "Mom and Jess's Spaghetti Sause" (sic) is still in my childhood handwriting. I told Cory the other week that I think it's neat how pasta sauce recipes are one of those things that are almost always handed down from generation to generation (her version is her mom's as well!)

Unfortunately, that was the last night I cooked this week. Last night G came down with some kind of crazy illness that necessitated a trip to Urgent Care during the normal dinner hour. He needed to stay for observation for quite awhile so by the time we came home it was after 8 and we ate some horrible fast food that really made me wish I just went hungry. He ended up sleeping in our bed last night which meant I didn't sleep at all, so while I had every intention of coming home and cooking, Drew's suggestion of pizza caught me in a weakened state.

I'm ready for tomorrow though and I'm jumping right back in with buttermilk fried chicken. I cant wait!