Start With the Basics

Even before dietary restrictions were placed upon us, my wife - Marion - had a dislike for things that were salty. (Exception being pretzels but then she'd knock off as much salt as possible.)

And being of Italian heritage we love our homemade tomato sauce. But our moms' recipes called for salt and salt pork. After much experimentation Marion hit upon this mixture of ingredients and we've been making sauce this way for over 30 years.

This is a basic tomato sauce. You can add ground beef, pork, or veal (pre-cook your meat) for a meat sauce.

If you prefer a vegetable based sauce, you could add mushrooms, onions, or red peppers.

This is a versatile sauce that works with many different meals. You can vary the amounts of the seasonings to suit your tastes.

BASIC SLOW COOKER TOMATO SAUCE

Ingredients

2 - 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (I use Hunt's No Salt Added)

2 - 6 oz tomato paste (use whatever brand is lowest is sodium)

1/4 cup of dry white wine (optional)

2-3 cloves of garlic thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon fresh rosemary (or 1/8 teaspoon is using dried)

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1 bay leaf

Directions

Place all ingredients in a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Mix together.

Cover. Cook on LOW setting for 4-6 hours.

This is a basic tomato sauce. You can add ground beef, pork, or veal (pre-cook your meat) for a meat sauce.

If you prefer a vegetable based sauce, you could add mushrooms, onions, or red peppers.

This is a versatile sauce that works with many different meals. You can vary the amounts of the seasonings to suit your tastes.