1 pound ground beef, 80/20

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound Italian sausage

olive oil, as needed

1 medium onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 cup red wine

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup Parmesan, grated

1 level tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons brown sugar, lightly packed

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground beef (1 pound), and sprinkle with salt (1 teaspoon) and black pepper (1/2 teaspoon), breaking it up into large chunks. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a crockpot.

Brown sausage (1 pound) on both sides. Place on top of the beef in the crockpot. Remove and discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet (if there isn’t enough fat in the pan, add olive oil).

Add garlic (1 tablespoon), onion (1 medium), Italian seasoning (1 tablespoon), rosemary (1 teaspoon), and saute until onion is translucent. Pour the onion mixture over the sausages in the crockpot.

Add red wine (1 cup), crushed tomatoes (1 can), tomato sauce (2 cans), tomato paste (2 tablespoons), parmesan (1 cup), and brown sugar (1 level tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons), and turn the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6.

Notes

Browning the meat: Depending on the fat ratio in your meat, you might need to drain the pan after you cook the ground beef. The Italian sausage typically has a fair amount of fat as well. Be sure to save just a little bit of it to cook the aromatics in. It boosts their flavor!

*adapted from https://www.gonnawantseconds.com/