This sauce is thick and rich.  Our favorite. It makes the exact amount of sauce for a one pound package of spaghetti. Many of us will have the ingredients on hand. It is pantry and crock pot friendly.

1 lb. Italian sausage or meatballs

Granulated onion – just shake it in! 

Granulated garlic – just shake it in!

Two, 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes

One 15 oz. can tomato sauce

One 6 oz. can tomato paste

One tablespoon brown sugar

Two bay leaves

Two teaspoons dried oregano

Two teaspoons dried basil

One teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon thyme

If you are using sausage, brown and drain first. Add all ingredients to crock pot, stir to combine, cook on high for 4 hours. Do NOT add water to this sauce!  So very good with homemade garlic bread.

We always keep a bag of Sam’s Club frozen meatballs in our freezer. Always. Fifteen go into this recipe. They can be used in this sauce, as well as for many Pinterest recipes using meatballs. Very, very thrifty.

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