Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
The beauty of this spaghetti sauce is that you don't have to pay attention while it simmers to perfection in a slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 pound mild or hot Italian sausage
- 3/4 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® cereal
- 2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) no-added-salt diced tomatoes
- 2 cans (8 oz. each) no-added-salt tomato sauce
- 1 can (4 oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning*
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed (optional)**
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions
1. In large skillet cook sausage until brown. Drain off fat. Place sausage in 4-to 5-quart crockery cooker.
2. In same skillet cook ground beef, onion and garlic until beef is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Add ground beef mixture to sausage in crockery cooker. Stir in KELLOGG'S® RICE KRISPIES® cereal, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, Italian seasoning, fennel (if desired) and pepper. Cover and cook on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours.
3. Stir meat mixture. Serve over hot cooked spaghetti.
Make Ahead Directions:
Prepare as above. Spoon 3-cup portions of the spaghetti sauce into freezer containers. Cover. Freeze for up to 3 months. Before serving, place one portion of the spaghetti sauce into a microwave-safe container. Microwave, loosely covered, on 50% power (medium) for 5 minutes. Stir sauce, breaking up any frozen chunks. Microwave, loosely covered, on 100% power (high) for 3 to 5 minutes more or until heated through, stirring every minute. Serve as above.
*Note: If desired, substitute 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves and 1/4 teaspoon dried sage leaves for the Italian seasoning.
**Note: If the Italian sausage used in the recipe contains fennel, omit the fennel seeds.