Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

This weekend we had my nephew's 6th birthday party at the Skating Rink, somewhere I used to go like every Friday night in middle school and haven't been back since. It hasn't changed one bit! 

Brody even skated for like 4 minutes, only because he wanted to see the lights on the middle of the floor. And then he pretended to drive the cars for the rest of the party. 

So after the party, my grandparents had planned for us to all go out to eat, but you know those kids in restaurants that won't sit still and run around and crawl under tables and stuff? Yeah that would be my kid. So I said that I would make some spaghetti and we would just eat at home. And by 9:00 yesterday morning dinner was already in the crock pot and I didn't have to worry about anything other than cooking the pasta and garlic bread last night after we got home. Piece of cake.

That's why the crock pot is my favorite kitchen utensil. What else will cook dinner all day while you are at work or out of the house, so that when you get home you barely have to do anything? Seriously the inventor of that should get some kind of award. Or probably just the millions that they made off of the invention, that would be just fine with me. 

This recipe was more than enough for 8 people and enough for lunch today but if you are cooking for less you could always freeze half of it. Just make sure that you let it cool completely before you put it in the freezer.

 And we have a bunch of jarred tomatos from my mother-in-law and my grandmother so I used two quart sized jars, but you could use the canned tomatos from the store.

Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb ground hamburger meat

1 lb ground pork

2 tbsp butter

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 tbsp garlic, chopped

1 small bell pepper, chopped

2 quarts jarred tomatos

2 cans tomato sauce

1 can tomato paste

2 1/2 tbsp dried italian seasoning

1 1/2 tbsp dried parsley

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp salt

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp sugar

Brown the hamburger meat and ground pork and drain the grease. While that is draining, melt butter in skillet and saute the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, and bell pepper until the onions start to become translucent, about 5-10 minutes. While those are cooking, add the tomatos, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and seasonings to the crock pot. Add the sautéed vegetables and browned meat to the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. The longer it cooks the better it will be. Serve over your favorite pasta.