I was searching for a new tomato-based sauce that I could use on (whole or ground) Italian sausage sandwiches. It was a cold day, so I wanted something that would cook all day, making the house smell great. I like that. Eight or so hours of great smells, culminating in a fantastic sandwich topped with slow cooker marinara sauce. That’s a great way to beat the weather.
The Perfect Sauce For Anything
This slow cooker marinara sauce is a great all-around marinara sauce. Double the recipe and keep some in the freezer. It’s great to have on hand for those nights when you need a simple meal. Great on pasta, sandwiches, pizza, you name it.
It was a cold day, so I wanted something that would cook all day, making the house smell great. I like that. Eight or so hours of great smells, culminating in a fantastic sandwich topped with slow cooker marinara sauce.
Yes! Give me some pizza hot dogs any day and I’m a happy guy! Great sauce and ooey-gooey cheese with a little basil. What is there not to like? I approach these dogs exactly like I would a pizza crust. I can put the same toppings on my hot dog as I can put on my pizza. Onions, mushrooms, pepperoncinis, it doesn’t matter what!
Add Greatness
I make a big batch of marinara sauce in our slow cooker and keep some on hand in the freezer for easy meals like these pizza hot dogs. Just warm the sauce a bit and spoon it over a cooked dog. Then add all of those great toppings.
This is also a great way to use up those last few tablespoons of jarred pizza sauce that we always end up with.
My goodness, these Italian grinders were good. They’re so easy to make. The key is the tasty homemade marinara sauce. And fresh mozzarella. And crunchy bread. Ok, it’s all good. The same approach works great substituting meatballs for the ground meats, but we really liked them the way they were. After browning the meats I pulsed them a few times in a food processor to get a great fine texture. Not overly processed. Don’t go crazy on it.
These Italian grinders reminded me a bit of the Sloppy Joes I remember from my childhood, only done Italian style, and well, quite a bit tastier. I wouldn’t be afraid to add a few pepperoncinis to them either. Or some giardiniera.
I like to use my good ole trusty Dutch oven to make the meat mixture. It’s nice and big and sturdy. That extra weight helps it maintain and distribute heat perfectly. As an added bonus, it’s actually pretty easy to clean up too!
My goodness, these Italian grinders were good. They’re so easy to make. The key is the tasty homemade marinara sauce. And fresh mozzarella. And crunchy bread.
Oh boy. Fried mozzarella sticks. Another food that I cannot be trusted with. I have no self control around them. Someone has to be the adult, and it’s not me. Ooey gooey cheese sticks covered in bread crumbs, cheese and a little seasoning. All ready to be dunked into some warmed marinara sauce right before the journey into my mouth.
Let ‘Em Cool. Please.
As difficult as it is to do, you’ll need to wait a minute or two to let these fried mozzarella sticks cool before devouring them. I try to think about something else, like yard work, to distract me during the painful waiting period. If you don’t wait the cheese is like molten lava. So… wait.
I get out my big deep fryer when it’s time to fry a large batch of food. It comes to temperature quickly and it maintains that temperature perfectly. It has a built-in oil filter and storage unit so I can re-use the oil several times.
I don’t know what happened. I can’t explain it. It was the day after Thanksgiving, it’s not like I was starving, not by any means. But after the first bite of this copycat Pizza Hut meaty marinara pasta I was suddenly very hungry. I could not get enough of it. It’s just flat-out delicious and it hit the spot on a cool November day. I’d make this dish again and again, exactly like it’s written.
Great Sauce. Really Great.
The sauce in this copycat of Pizza Hut’s meaty marinara pasta is absolutely delicious. I’d definitely use it over spaghetti or in lasagna. And you have to have the cheese, and you have to get it just a bit browned. Oh… me yes! It is so good! I flashed back to the days of the Pizza Hut buffets where you’d find this great dish, pizza slices and crispy yummy salads!
I highly recommend that you shred or grate your own cheese at home. Don’t buy the pre-shredded or pre-grated stuff. It has stuff added to it to keep it from sticking together. That ‘stuff’ affects how the cheese melts. Shred it yourself and use the real stuff.
Add the flour, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, 1/4 the pepper, and all of the fennel seed. Using your hands, mix well.
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the beef mixture and cook, breaking it up, until cooked through. Remove the beef to a paper towel-lined plate.
Remove any excess grease from the pan. Add the oil. Reduce heat to medium-low.
Add the onion and cook for 1 minute.
Add the garlic and stir, continuing to cook until the onion is just starting to soften.
Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomato, Parmesan, basil, sugar, oregano and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper.
Increase heat to medium, stirring often, until the sauce starts to bubble.
Stir in the ground beef mixture and reduce the heat to medium-low so the sauce simmers. Let cook 30-45 minutes, stirring often, until thickened.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often.
Drain the pasta.
Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with non-stick spray.
Add half of the pasta and spread it out evenly. Top with half of the sauce, spreading it out evenly also.
Add remaining pasta, again spreading it out evenly. Add the last of the sauce and and spread out evenly.
Preheat your oven broiler to high.
Sprinkle cheese over top of the dish, getting it from edge-to-edge.
Place the dish under the broiler and broil for 2-4 minutes, keeping an eye on it, until the cheese just starts to brown.
Remove and serve.
Notes
You can make extra meat sauce and freeze it for use later. Just stop at step #9.
