Spagetti Sauce for a Crowd. . .or two

I made a roaster full of spaghetti sauce today. It simmered all day on the kitchen counter while we were taking down our Christmas decorations. Taking down the Christmas stuff always makes me feel sad; but having 40 cups of spaghetti sauce ready for the freezer helps a bit.

Here's the recipe:

Roaster Spaghetti Sauce

4# lean ground beef, browned with onion and garlic, drained and rinsed in hot water. (I used three medium yellow onions and a fist of garlic. Onion can go in with the ground beef, but wait until the meat is nearly done before adding the garlic so it doesn't burn and get bitter)

2 pkg. hot Italian sausage links, cut into rings the size of meatballs (not sure the weight on the sausage but each package had 5 large links--I'd guess something over a pound for each package) Cook sausage thoroughly and cool before cutting into pieces.

1) 6# 6 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1) 6# 9 oz. can of tomato sauce

3) 12 oz. cans diced tomatoes with juice

3) 8 oz. pkgs. fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 small cans tomato paste

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

Season to taste with parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary. Cook on 250 degrees all day, stirring occasionally. Check seasonings near the end of cooking time and adjust. I usually add basil again right near the end.

Makes 40 cups.