Slow-Simmered Meat Sauce

Cooking Light magazine has a lot of ups and downs in their issues, but in my opinion, March's issue took a big step up. They had a feature on slow cooker recipes and they are even starting a new online column on freezer friendly meals! Yea!! This meat sauce was really, really good though a bit spicy, so you may want to adjust it to your family's taste.

Slow-Simmered Meat Sauce

1 T. olive oil

2 c. chopped onion

1 c. chopped carrot

6 garlic cloves, minced

8oz Italian sausage

1 lb ground sirloin

1/2 c. kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

1/4 c. no-salt-added tomato paste

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 (28oz) can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes, undrained

1 (8oz) can no-salt-added tomato sauce

1 T. chopped fresh oregano

16 oz uncooked mafaldine pasta

1/2 c. torn fresh basil

3 oz shaved fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and carrot to pan; saute 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Place vegetable mixture in a 6-quart slow cooker. Add sausage and beef to skillet; saute 6 minutes or until browned; stirring to crumble. Remove beef mixture from skillet using a slotted spoon. Place beef mixture on a double layer of paper towels; drain. Add beef mixture to slow cooker. Stir olives and next 6 ingredients (through tomato sauce) into slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours. Stir in oregano.
2. Prepare pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Serve sauce with hot cooked pasta; top with basil and cheese.

Yield: 8 servings

Serving size: 1 cup pasta, 1 cup sauce, 2 tablespoons cheese, and 1 tablespoon basil

Serve with a yummy "Olive Garden" Salad! See dressing recipe below!

Olive Garden Salad Dressing

1/2 C. Mayonnaise
1/3 C. White Vinegar
1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp. Corn Syrup
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp. Romano Cheese
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt – or one clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Parsley Flakes
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
sugar (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little to tart for your own personal tastes please add a little extra sugar. You can enjoy your Olive Garden salad dressing for about 10 days if stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Another great use for the Olive Garden salad dressing is you can use it for a marinade for vegetables or even meats that you might like to grill.