Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce

Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Serves 6


4 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/2 c. beef broth
3 left over beer brats, diced
1 pint of fresh mushrooms, quartered(optional)
1 lb. browned ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce of choice
2 Tbs. fresh basil, thinly sliced (or 1 tsp. dried basil)
1 Parmesan cheese rind  (remove before serving)


Directions:
Start with putting the sliced onions in the crock in pot with a drizzle of olive oil (if you have left over bacon drippings from breakfast use this instead of the olive oil), bay leaf, fresh thyme,salt, pepper and beef broth:  let cook on low for 3 hours until browned.  Remove the stems of the thyme.  You can add the rest of the ingredients and cook in the crock pot for another 1 hour or place in a sauce pan on the stove and heat through.
Tips:
1. Always keep your left over bacon drippings in a glass container in your refrigerator and use for extra flavor replacing your oil in a recipe. 
2. I will brown large batches of ground beef on the weekends and then store it in 2 c. Ziploc bags in the freezer to add to dishes as needed.
3. When we have left over grilled brats (or any meat really) I place them in the freezer for adding to my spaghetti sauce or soups.
4.In the fall, I will take the remaining basil leaves off the plants before the hard freeze and make pesto to freeze in ice cube trays so I can have fresh tasting herbs throughout the winter in my sauces and soups.
5. I keep the rinds of my fresh Parmesan cheese in the freezer and will add these to soups and sauces for extra flavor.