--> SEE NOTES BELOW ABOUT USING FRESH TOMATOES OR COOKING NOODLES IN POT. <--
The Directions.
Add the thawed (or fresh) turkey meat to the crockpot.
Dump in all the cans of tomatoes, and break the ground meat up with a large spoon. Stir in the spices and mushrooms.
Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or on high for about 5 hours.
When done cooking, break up the ground meat a bit more and season to taste.
Jarred pasta sauce is awfully salty; I didn't add any salt, but your tongue might desperately want it
(you'll probably need about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, but start slowly. If you are using regular table salt, use half of this amount -- table salt has smaller granules).
I also didn't add ANY sugar. That's because it feels weird to put sugar into pasta sauce, even though if you read the ingredients in the grocery store they all have tons of sugar.
SO -- if this isn't sweet enough for your taste buds, go ahead and add a bit at a time to get it to the flavor you're looking for.
Serve right away, or package for freezing.
PS: HEY STEPH, I WANT TO USE FRESH TOMATOES!
Okay. You can. But you really should try to peel them first.
Use 3.5 pounds.
The stewed tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes don't have any skin. Skin is weird in pasta sauce, trust me.
The best way to peel a whole bunch of tomatoes is this way:
Bring a really large pot of water to a boil (leave 6 inches or so of room for displacement. TRUST ME.)
After you have washed all your tomatoes, use a paring knife to cut an X into the bottom of each one, and then toss them into the already-boiling water.
Let them tumble for 1 minute. Then lift out with a large slotted spoon and drop them into a large bowl or container or ice water.
Once they are cool enough to handle, slip the skin off. And I suppose compost it or feed it to chickens or something like that. ;-)
Use 3.5 pounds of tomatoes to keep everything else the same in this recipe. For the last 30 minutes or so, cook on high with the lid off to let the steam escape to naturally thicken the sauce.
PS: HEY STEPH, I WANT TO COOK THE NOODLES IN THE SAUCE!
Okay. You can. My suggestion would be to brown the meat beforehand, then break your noodles in half and stir them completely into the sauce.
Cover and cook the same way but know that your finished spaghetti is going to be more casserole-ish instead of spaghetti-ish.
The consistency will be that of a baked ziti or lasagna --- still DELICIOUS but not wet.
PS: HEY STEPH, IF I DON'T USE MEAT, DO I CHANGE THE COOKING TIME?
You do not need to. Don't over complicate things. Slow cooking is supposed to be easy and full of wiggle room.
It's all good!
ALSO: if you have food allergies or preferences -- this is the easiest, least-complicated way in the world to only get The Stuff You Want.
:-)
