Mandy's Homemade Healthy Spaghetti Sauce w/ Butternut Squash

Below is my version of spaghetti sauce. I can it every year and even my picky kids like it! It's a great way to sneak in extra vegetables. 

Mandy's Healthy Spaghetti Sauce

This is my basic recipe for a 7qt crockpot

You'll need 1 butternut squash. Put it in the oven on 350*, seed side down (make sure it's seeded). Cook until you can put a fork through it. Then take out the squash out of the shell and puree it, adding water as needed to make it smooth. 

While it's cooking, this is the time I chop my tomatoes and onions.

Insert a crockpot liner into the slow cooker; saves on the cleanup! I cut my tomatoes up into small pieces and toss them in. You do not need to peel them! Once the crockpot is over 3/4 full, put in your squash puree on top. Add one chopped onion, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/4-1/2 cup Italian Seasonings. Depending on how watery your tomatoes are will depend on how much tomato paste you put in. I normally use 1-6oz can or 1-12oz can. I buy organic at Fred Meyers because it's so cheap!

Let cook AT LEAST 12 hours on low. After 6-8 hours, you can turn it down to the "keep warm" setting as it will still simmer.  This will help all the flavors simmer so it tastes like spaghetti sauce and not squash sauce. 

After its cooked, you can:

Put in bags or glass jars and freeze

OR

Put in glass jars and can it.