Bigfatmomma's Slow-cooked Meat Sauce

I wanted a meat sauce without carrots or celery in it--just good meaty tastiness. So, I came up with this one. It was rich and hearty, without those pesky vegetables getting in the way. Fiber, indeed!

• Ready In: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 lbs ground beef or 1 1⁄2 lbs ground turkey
• 2  tablespoons butter
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 4  ounces mushrooms, chopped
• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 2  cloves garlic, minced
• 2  teaspoons molasses
• 1  large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1  teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 1  teaspoon dried basil
• 1  teaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2  medium bay leaves
• 3 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1  cup  shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1⁄2 cup  grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Saute tomato, mushrooms, garlic, onion in the butter, olive oil and molasses, until soft.
2. Place this mixture into a crockpot.
3. Brown the beef in a non-stick pan until no longer pink, and drain.
4. Pour on top of onion mixture in crockpot.
5. Pour tomato sauce into crockpot.
6. Add spices, bay leaves and cheese, and stir to mix evenly.
7. Slow-cook on low for 2-3 hours, stirring twice, or alternately, cook over very low heat on stovetop, stirring occasionally so that the cheese doesn't burn.
8. Serve over thick pasta.