Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce

A few Sundays ago, I finally crossed off something else on my 2012 Food Goals list: I made my own marinara sauce and (kind of) canned it! The recipe I chose used a crock pot as the cooking method, which was terribly convenient, even though I have yet to overcome the anxiety and impatience that accompany any use of it.

Please tell me I'm not the only one with this issue.

I have a huge fascination with slow cookers, probably because my family never used one growing up. But with this fascination comes all these other questions and emotions...Can I REALLY leave this contraption on for 8 hours straight without it catching fire? Will this meat REALLY take 8 hours to cook or will I ruin it? Then there's also the "catch the tooth fairy" mentality I deal with. I want to catch the slow cooker 's magic in action. In the case of this sauce, I wanted to actually see the onions and tomatoes caramelize. So I peeked...just about every hour.

I might have removed this sauce from the crock pot a few hours too early, but I was tired of waiting and Boyfriend was hungry. The end result was brighter than what Beth's blog Budget Bytes stated it would look (thus why I think I stopped cooking it prematurely), but it definitely didn't disappoint in flavor.

This sauces was bright with flavor, with a very slight tartness to it. In addition to the delicious factor, I love knowing exactly what's in it :-) Boyfriend and I ate it with angel hair, sausage (him), and mushrooms (me). I placed the leftovers in a jar while still hot in an attempt to lock the seal with heat. I know, this is not the correct way to can food, but I was too lazy to "for real" attempt it.

Since then, I've used it on homemade pizza (with homemade crust, see here and here) and MORE spaghetti. I'm so pleased with it that I can't wait to make more to try in other pasta dishes---e.g., lasagna, baked ziti, eggplant parm.

And, who knows, maybe next time I'll be better at leaving the slow cooker fairy alone to work her magic!

Slow Cooker Marinara

Slightly Adapted from Budget Bytes

Servings: ~4 cups

2 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes

1 6oz can tomato paste

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 tablespoon parsley

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (I substituted in balsamic vinaigrette)

Salt and pepper to taste

• Grate or mince the cloves of garlic and toss into the slow cooker along with the chopped onion. Next add tomatoes, paste, spices, sugar, and vinegar; stir until well combined.  

• Place lid on slow cooker and set on low heat for about 8 hours. By this time, the sauce should have transitioned from a bright red to a darker maroon (mine didn't completely). Remove lid, stir, and season with salt.