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After years of friends telling me their crock pot was a life saver i gave in and bought one. With two small children I was looking for an easy way to get dinner going and generally make dinner less painful for the beasts also known as my children.

I took it out of the box and stared at it for a couple days. I finally got up enough courage and washed it. Then came the experimenting, and I will be honest: it took a while. I had gotten some bad advice. I added to much liquid, not enough filler. It took time to figure out the temperature. How long do I really need to cook things, and then by chance I came across a cookbook called Art of the Slow Cooker that saved my life and taught me the ins, the outs and not to be afraid. I let go and cooked the way I cook.

I have to admit, I don’t use my crock pot as often as I should. I forget how easy it makes things. How 20 minutes in the morning can save my whole evening, forget it, it saves my week.

When I was introduced to Marcella Hazan’s famous sauce recipe I stopped what i was doing…can this work in the crock pot? Can I get it down? Will the onion be to much? Can I stop buying jars of sauce for that easy last minute dinner and have this sitting in my fridge all week?

It worked. I played with the recipe a little, I threw together some ideas, and now, in the words of Emeril, “BAM” I got sauce.

This recipe is so easy it comes together in less then 5 minutes. Yes, 5 minutes. And the best part is, it can cook all day on a low setting with the top ajar and your house smells amazing. Amazing like you’ve been cooking Sunday gravy on he stove top all day.

Looking for other easy and delicious recipes for your crockpot? Here’s a few of my favorites:

Sweet and Sour Brisket

Curried Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup

Summer Ale Beef Tacos

Sweet, Sour & Spicy Short Ribs

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Crockpot Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

water

handful of basil

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 Tbsp of sugar

¼ cup butter (1/2 stick)

Salt and pepper

Directions

Get your crock pot out and set it to low.

Empty canned tomatoes into pot and then fill 1/4 of the can with water, add to crock pot. Peel onion and garlic, and add to crock pot whole.

Add butter, handful of basil, sugar and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook on low for 5-6 hours with the lid a touch ajar.

When ready to serve, remove onion and garlic. You can also remove basil if desired.