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Slow Cooker Beef and Vegetable Ragu

Slow Cooker Beef and Vegetable Ragu

This is a hearty meal, chock full of vegetables. Perfect for a busy day. You may have a few leftover spaghetti noodles, feel free to make slightly less than a whole box if your family is not as good at leftovers as mine is. I still think you should follow it with cookie dough, though.
Course main dish, slow cooker
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 15 minutes
Servings 6 -8 servings
Author Lane from With Two Spoons

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pound ground beef
  • 4 carrots diced
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 zucchini seeded and diced
  • 5 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 28 ounce can tomato sauce
  • 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • basil chopped, for garnish
  • parmesan shaved, for garnish
  • 16 ounces spaghetti noodles

Instructions

  1. In a large skillet, cook ground beef over medium-high heat, until cooked through.
  2. Drain ground beef, place cooked beef in a bowl covered with foil.
  3. Return empty skillet to medium-high heat, add onion, carrot, zucchini and sauté for 5 minutes.
  4. Add garlic and then saute an additional 1 minute, stirring to ensure the garlic does not burn.
  5. Add ground beef back to skillet.
  6. Pour in red wine, simmer for 3-5 minutes, allowing the vegetables and beef to soak up the wine and allowing the alcohol to cook off.
  7. At this point if you are using a slow cooker, transfer mixture to a slow cooker. (If not using a slow cooker, add the rest of your ingredients-tomato sauce through oregano- into your skillet and simmer on the stove until vegetables are tender).
  8. Next, add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and oregano to the slow cooker.
  9. Cook on low for 6-8 hours until vegetables are tender.
  10. When you are almost ready to eat, cook spaghetti noodles according to package.
  11. Drain noodles and then place into bowls.
  12. Add beef and vegetable ragu to noodles.
  13. Garnish with fresh basil and shaved parmesan.