Linda’s Old Fashioned Spaghetti (Crock Pot)
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Linda’s Old Fashioned Spaghetti is my mother in law’s signature dish and one we always look forward to whenever we visit them in Georgia. A meaty spaghetti with a sauce that is definitely a step up from your typical store bought canned sauce and far more flavorful than what most folks are used to. Linda usually makes it on the stovetop, setting aside hours for it to simmer and cook down. Last time we visited she mentioned that she would like to have a slow cooker version so that she could put it in the crock pot in the morning and not have to fuss over it throughout the day.
Well all she had to do was tell me she wanted it! I came home and immediately set out to adapt the recipe for the slow cooker. Now we can all have this bold and flavorful meat sauce spaghetti just by tossing in the ingredients and walking away.
One of my favorite features of a slow cooker is that it’s the closest I’ll ever come to having kitchen staff 🙂
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You’ll need: Browned ground beef, Garlic powder, a jar of mushrooms, tomato paste, basil, rosemary, a pinch of cayenne pepper (it isn’t spicy, I promise!), bay leaves, and salt. Oh and some water. I’m gonna assume you have that. Isn’t it nice to have water readily available? Lots of folks don’t.
Brown your meat and drain the grease. Place in 5-6 quart slow cooker. Add in Basil, Rosemary, Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper, Cayenne (just a tiny pinch, don’t freak out!), tomato paste, and water. Stir that up real good. Hint: This is easier to mix if you use hot water.
Drain mushrooms and gently stir those in.
Add Bay leaves and don’t stir (because they will break up), just spoon some sauce over them. Fish those out later, before serving.
Eat it up!
Ingredients
- 2 -3 pounds lean ground beef or ground chuck
- 1 large can tomato paste 12 oz.
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 ½ Tbs. Basil
- 1 ½ Tbs. Rosemary
- heaping teaspoon garlic powder
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- Pinch red cayenne pepper
- 1 jar of sliced mushrooms 6 oz.
- 3 Bay leaves remove after cooking
Instructions
- In large skillet, cook ground beef until browned and fully cooked, drain and place in slow cooker.
- Brown your meat and drain the grease. Place in 5-6 quart slow cooker. Add in Basil, Rosemary, Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper, Cayenne, tomato paste, and water. Stir that up real good.
- Drain mushrooms and gently stir those in.
- Add Bay leaves and don't stir (because they will break up), just spoon some sauce over them.
- Cover and cook on low, 7-9 hours, or high, 3-4 hours. Before serving, remove bay leaves. Serve over fresh cooked noodles.
Nutrition
” I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life.”
~Deut 30:18
Oh this looks so good. I just need to pick up a few items to make it. I had my heart set on Pizza subs but we might change it to this for tomorrow night. Thanks for the great ideas. I can’t wait to try this.
Whichever you decide is a great choice in my book 🙂