Slow Cooker Meat Sauce

Ingredients

1 lb extra lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1 large yellow onions- diced
1 large red onion- diced
4 large carrots- diced
1 yellow pepper- diced
1 red pepper- diced
1orange pepper- diced
4 stalks of celery- diced
1/2 fennel bulb diced
10 brown mushrooms-diced
1 cup parsley stems- finely diced Reserve the leaves for garnish
6 large cloves of garlic- grated
1 tsp dried chilies
1 tsp fennel seeds
Salt and pepper
1 cup dry full bodied red wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup beef stock
2 bay leaves
1 can of diced San Marzano tomatoes
1 jar or tomato puree/passata
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Heat a large deep pan and saute the ground meat. Once the meat starts to sizzle add the fennel seeds , chilies, garlic and salt and pepper.
2. Once the meat is cooked dump it into a slow cooker. Using the same pan add the olive oil and saute the vegetables and parsley stems stirring often . Saute  for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly cooked and starting to show some color.
3. Deglaze  the pan with red wine scraping all the bits from the bottom. Once the alcohol evaporates after a minute or 2 dump all the pan ingredients into the crock-pot  along with the meat.
4. Add the remaining ingredients to the crock pot and stir until well combined. Set the crock-pot on low for 6 hours.
5. Boil your favorite pasta making sure to follow the package for al dente cooking time. Remove the bay leaves from the sauce.
6. Toss with some freshly chopped parsley leaves and garnish with your favorite cheese.
7. Enjoy!

AA