Pasta is one of my favorite meals. I’m always trying to make the pasta sauce turn out better than the last time I made it. This recipe takes a while longer since you make the tomato sauce in the crock pot before adding it to the meat, but it’s worth it. I used protein noodles to lower the carbs.

Serves 4. Time: prep 20 minutes, cook 2 hrs.

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce

• 28 oz can peeled tomatoes
• 5-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 20-25 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2-1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
• salt/pepper, to taste

Meat

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 3/4 onion, small dice
• 1/4 shallot, minced
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano, minced
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• salt/pepper, to taste

Pasta

• 3/4 lb rotini pasta, or pasta of choice; cook to package directions
• salt for water while cooking

plus Parmesan and fresh basil, rolled and sliced thinly

Method

Combine ingredients of tomato sauce in crock pot and set for 2 hrs over low/medium heat. Come back to start the meat after about 1-1/2 hrs. Once the tomato sauce has stewed awhile, drizzle the olive oil in a saucepan and saute the onion and shallot over medium until translucent, about 5-8 minutes. Add the ground beef, garlic powder, oregano, Worcestershire, salt/pepper, and brown, stirring occasionally. Start the noodles and cook according to al dente package directions. Once the tomato sauce is done, puree it using a submersible blender, then add it to the meat and stir. Once pasta is done, drain and dish it up! This is especially good with Parmesan and fresh basil chiffonade sprinkled over the dish prior to serving.