Spicy Meat Sauce for a Crowd

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 green pepper, diced (optional)

1 Tbsp oil

3 large, spicy flavored sausages or hot dogs, diced into very small pieces

2 lb (1 k) ground beef

2 28-oz (800-g) cans diced tomatoes

2 5 1/2-oz (155-g) cans tomato paste

2 20-oz (560-g) cans tomato sauce (I use thick n’ zesty)

1/2 cup chicken soup or broth

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp dried basil

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 bay leaves

1 tsp salt, or to taste

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

1.  Preheat oil in a large frying pan and sauté onions and garlic, with green pepper if desired, until just lightly browned. Add the diced sausage and ground meat and cook over medium heat until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes. Break up any lumps with a potato masher as it cooks.

2.  Transfer meat mixture to the slow cooker and add all the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Cook on medium for 6-8 hours. Remove bay leaves before serving.

3.  Serve with your favorite pasta, and top with freshly chopped basil or parsley leaves.

NOTE: I like to serve this sauce with fettuccine ricce, a great pasta I found in my supermarket that looks like a very narrow version of lasagna noodles.

This recipe originally appeared in Mishpacha Magazine.  Read full article, 'My Crockpot Craze', here.

Recipes by Estee Kafra, Styling by Tehila Hoberman and Amit Farber, Photorgraphy by Daniel Lailah.