Frozen on Friday #3

For my March Freeze Ahead recipe I'm posting one of my staples, a semi-homemade marinara.  What I love best is the versatility of this sauce.  It works with basic spaghetti, ziti, stuffed shells,lasagna, or just an all purpose red meat sauce. The ricotta gives it a bit of richer texture but can be omitted.

12 hour Crock Pot Marinara

Ingredients-
1 package of Italian sausage
3 jars of your choice pasta sauce
2 cloves of garlic
1 chopped onion (chop according to how much you want in a single bight)
4 tablespoons Italian seasoning
dash of salt and pepper
1 large container of skim ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Brown Italian sausage, remove casing and chop finely.  I usually run through a food processor to give it the consistency of ground beef.  In a large crockpot, empty all three jars of the sauce, add the meat, onion (can brown along with the meat), garlic, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper.  Set on low and cook overnight.

In the morning, allow the sauce to cool for at least 30 minutes and stir in the ricotta and Parmesan cheese.

Makes 10 cups of sauce.  I normally bag 2-3 cups in a large freezer bag and freeze flat to stack.