Crockpot Vegetable Marinara Sauce

As a mom of a picky toddler I am constantly trying to get vegetables in my son in one way or another. He likes certain things (peas/carrots/spinach/sweet potatoes/mushrooms) but beyond that... yeah... he's not so interested right now. One thing he does eat in huge quantities though is tomato sauce. I go through a lot of sauce with him. He uses it as a dip for just about everything, eats lots of homemade pizza, and tons of pasta. So with that said I figured I'd try to make a healthier sauce that incorporates more veggies. This turned out great! What I will say though is that it does change the flavor of the sauce depending on what veggies you use so if you have a very intuitive little one at home, you might get caught. Since it's cooked in the slow cooker for hours the veggies completely turn to mush and are easy to puree into the sauce. I plan to make this many many more times in the coming months!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can whole peeled plum tomatoes
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion, peeled and sliced in half
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced mushrooms
1 tsp Italian seasonings
1 tsp garlic powder
4 tbsp butter

Directions:
1- Combine all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2- When done, remove the onion. Use an immersion blender and puree the sauce to the desired consistency.