my "shoestring gourmet" spaghetti meat sauce

Aside from hard-boiled eggs and pancakes, pbj's and tuna salad sandwiches, spaghetti sauce is fast becoming my new favorite staple for meals these days. It can go on so many different kinds of pasta, you can even put it on bread... But I tell ya...I'm burning out - quick - on my less-than-creative "budget" diet!

So on my last trip to the store, instead of buying whatever bland, generic 2/$6 sauce was on sale - loaded with sodium, high fructose corn syrup, and other terrific "flavorings" and preservatives - I decided to go it myself. I wanted to make a health/cost-savings per meal, hopefully something that would taste a bit better too, and something that could freeze & be heated quick. I haven't checked yet to see how my recipe invention measures out $/meal, but my taste-test dinner results tonight seemed to work out!

So here's my latest concoction, in case you feel brave...

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Ingredients

2 T oil, canola
2 C onions, yellow, chopped (approx. 2 onions)
2 T garlic, minced (approx. 6 cloves)
1 C pepper, red, diced - roasted (approx. 2 peppers)
2 C mushrooms, sliced (approx. 12 mushrooms)
2 C eggplant, diced - roasted (approx. 1 eggplant)

3 lbs beef, ground - browned

3 C wine, red, Cabernet Sauvignon - reduced (approx. 1 bottle - don't need anything fancy...I found mine for something like a $1.50!!)

15 oz beans, kidney/red, canned, strained & rinsed
15 oz beans, white, canned, strained & rinsed
15 oz olives, sliced, canned, strained & rinsed
29 oz tomatoes, diced/crushed, canned
29 oz tomatoes, puree/paste, canned
29 oz tomatoes, sauce, canned

2 T basil, fresh, minced (approx. 8-12 leaves)
0.50 t fennel seed
1 T oregano, dried
0.25 t rosemary, dried
0.25 t thyme, dried
1 t salt
1 t pepper, black, ground
1 T sugar

extra top secret ingredients....
0.25 t cinnamon
0.25 t cocoa powder
0.25 t coffee grinds, fine

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Instructions

1. Put the meat out on the counter to rest after being refrigerated. Clean your hands! Then chop, mince, slice, & dice the onions, garlic, mushrooms, & eggplant in prep for browning & roasting. Meanwhile, heat a big pot on the stove until waterspatters "dance" when flicked in it; then add & heat the oil. Turn the broiler on in the oven for the red peppers.

2. Put the red peppers under the broiler and rotate until all sides of the skins are charred. Meanwhile, add the onions to the pot of oil and stir to coat thoroughly. Add the garlic right before the onions caramelize. Cook until the onions just begin caramelizing and the garlic becomes fragrant, and then dump into the crockpot (don't burn the garlic!!). When the peppers are charred on all sides, put them in a bowl and cover with a lid or saran wrap to steam for 10-15 minutes.

4. Add the mushrooms to the pot on the stove to cook until they start to let go of their water, then add to the crockpot. Meanwhile, stir the eggplant with some canola oil (olive oil burns at high temps) and spread on a sheet for under the broiler. Roast until browned, then add to crockpot.

5. Add the ground beef to the pot on the stove and cook until browned. Add to crockpot.

6. Deglaze the bottom of the pot with the red wine, scraping up any bits of browned vegetables and meat, cooking until wine reduces by almost half. Add to crockpot.

7. Strain & rinse the beans & olives. Add to crockpot.

8. Add the canned tomatoes to the crockpot.

9. Mince the fresh basil and add to the crockpot. Add the other spices/seasonings...and the top secret seasonings if you feel daring!

10. Peel the charred skin from the red peppers (should practically fall off when you pick them up), gut them of their seeds, chop, and add to the crockpot.

11. Stir.

12. Cook on HI for an hour, and then LO for 8-12 hours (according to taste), stirring occasionally.

13. Let me know what you think!