Slow Cooker Sunday Sauce

Pork shoulder and ground beef slow cooked with fresh tomatoes and vegetables then served over pasta.

servings: 8

total time: 10 hours

recipe by: Frankie

Ingredients

4 pounds roma tomatoes
1 TBSP olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork butt/shoulder
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 large yellow onion, small chopped
2 medium carrots, finely grated
6 medium garlic cloves, chopped
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
2 bay leaves
2 pounds uncooked spaghetti
freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

CONVERSION CALCULATOR

Directions

Use a sharp knife to cut a shallow X mark on the bottom (the opposite side of where the stem would be) of each tomato.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add the tomatoes to the boiling water and boil for 1 minute. After 1 minute use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomatoes to a large bowl of ice water.
When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle peel off the skins, the skins should peel off easily starting from where you cut the X mark.
Roughly chop the tomatoes then place them in a 6-quart slow cooker.
Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Season the pork generously with salt & pepper on all sides then sear the pork until well browned on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to the slow cooker on top of the tomatoes and set aside.
Keep the pan over medium-high heat and add the ground beef. Break up the ground beef into bite-size chinks and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer the browned beef to the slow cooker with the pork and set aside.
Keep the pan over medium-high heat and add the onion, carrots, garlic, oregano, basil, bay leaves, 2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper to the pan. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables soften, about 6 minutes.
Add 1/4 cup of water to the pan then use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan to release any stuck on bits. Transfer the contents of the pan to the slow cooker.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW for about 8 hours or until the pork is very tender.
Take the lid off the slow cooker and continue to cook the sauce in the slow cooker, occasionally breaking up the pork and tomatoes and stirring, for about 1 more hour or until sauce thickens.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Taste the sauce and season with additional salt & pepper if needed.
Serve the cooked spaghetti with the sauce and top with freshly grated Parmesan.