Christine’s Hearty and Spicy Spaghetti Sauce

Christine’s Hearty and Spicy Spaghetti Sauce:

- #10 can of crushed tomatoes (this was almost 7 lbs)
- two 4 oz cans of sliced mushrooms
- 1/8 c italian seasoning
- 1 1/4 c red wine
- 3-4 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 2 cans of black pearl olives ( I sliced them)
- ¼ c olive oil
- 1 lb sundried tomatoes (in oil, purchased at costco)
- 2 large red onions
- 3 red bell peppers
- 1/4 c garlic (minced)
- 2 sliced and halved roast zucchinis (roasted with thyme, garlic, and pepper)
- 2 lbs of costco's chicken italian sausage
- salt and pepper to taste

1. Slice and sautee onions in olive oil with salt over medium heat until light brown. Add in bell peppers and garlic, cook until soft.
2. In 6 qt pot, add crushed tomatoes, wine, spices, oil, olives, pepper flakes, and mushrooms. Cook over medium heat, covered.
3. Slice zucchini in half, cover with oil and spices, roast in oven until cooked thoroughly.
4. Add sautéed vegetables and roast zucchini to 6 qt pot, reduce heat, simmer.
5. In frying pan, cook chicken sausage (like taco meat, crumbled). Do not drain.
6. Add sausage to 6 qt pot, mix, simmer until tomatoes sweeten to just the right taste, add salt and pepper to taste.

Note: This whole process took about 4.5 hours. We started at 7 p.m. and did steps 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6, then went out for two hours (from 9-11 p.m.). Then we returned and did step 3, and let it cook for another half hour and turned off the heat. We did have to use two pots until the sauce cooked down a bit.