I had a friend who once declared that there is no such thing as a food that can’t be made better by adding either chocolate, bacon, or cheese. I don’t know about that. I haven’t tested the theory but I can tell you that the addition of bacon to this spaghetti sauce is an improvement to an already delicious food. Plus, there are few things better than walking in the door at the end of a busy day and having the whole house smell amazing. I love getting the cooking and dishes for dinner done in the morning and having all day to run errands, get stuff done around the house, or do something with my kids without worrying about getting home or stopping everything in time to make dinner. So this recipe has both bacon AND coming home to a great meal going for it.

This is one of our favorite slow cooker recipes. It is modified from a cookbook that came into our marriage with Andy called “Fix It and Forget It.”  I’ll sometimes make a double batch and freeze a bunch for later use. Slow Cooker food seems to be synonymous with comfort food and what is more comforting than a big bowl of spaghetti with extra flavor from bacon?!Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 lb bacon, diced
• 1 1/4 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup diced bell peppers, any color
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce (If you like a thinner spaghetti sauce add an extra can)
• 2 6 oz cans tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine (remember to use something you would drink)
• 2 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled
• 1 1/2 tsp dried or 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions

Brown the bacon until crisp. Remove.

Add the ground turkey. Crumble and cook until brown. Drain off the extra fat. Stir in the onions and bell peppers. Cook until the onions start to become translucent, then add the garlic. and cook for one minute more.Meanwhile add all other ingredients to the slow cooker and stir.Add in the meat mixture and the bacon.I almost forgot to add the bacon back in…oops!! That would have been sad! In it goes:Cover and bring to a boil on high (about an hour and a half). Then turn crock pot to low for 4-6 hours. Pour over cooked pasta and serve. If you like, add some grated or shaved Parmesan or Pecorino Romano Cheese over the top.