Adventures In Convenience

Is there anything more convenient than a dump-and-go recipe?  “No” is the answer, by the way.  And one of the great inventions of the modern age is the crock pot, which is particularly suited to many dump-and-go meals.  One of my favorites is Spaghetti Meat Sauce.  I got this recipe from a book that I lost long ago, so although I’ve done some tweaking since then, it’s not really my original recipe.  This makes quite a lot (6-8 servings, depending on how generously you dish it up) and is sooooo easy!  You don’t even have to brown the meat ahead of time!  Just one cooking dish to clean.

The ingredients are mostly staples you probably already have, with the exception of the beef.  Into your crockpot put one pound of lean ground beef and break it up with a spoon or whatever tool you choose.  I chose a potato masher, which works nicely.  Then dump in all the rest of your ingredients, set the heat to low, and cook it anywhere from 4-8 hours.  (The recipe says 4-6 hours, but really, this recipe is quite forgiving.) Serve it over pasta or rice, with a little parmesan topper. It’s even fabulous with macaroni, a combo my mother has called “goulash” since I was a child. Let’s be clear, it’s not really goulash. Just a rich spaghetti meat sauce served with macaroni. But…delish.

Told you it was easy…

Spaghetti Meat Sauce

Click here for printable PDF of recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, pressed

2 1-lb cans chopped tomatoes

1 8-oz can tomato sauce

1 12-oz can tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS

Break up the ground beef. Combine meat with all other ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles or rice.