I was in the mood for a sauce that was more meaty than tomato-ish, so I started with a couple of trusted bolognese sauce recipes and modified like crazy.
Pour 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with their juices into the ceramic insert of your slow cooker (I like Muir's Organic tomatoes). Drain 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes and add them to the cooker. Set cooker on high heat.
Pour one cup of not very oaky white wine (e.g., Pinot Grigio) into a pyrex measuring cup. (I put a chop stick in the cup to give bubbles something against which to form.) Microwave on high until boiling. Add 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms. Steep 30 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid. Finely chop mushrooms and add to cooker. Pass reserved liquid through a coffee filter (use a funnel). Add strained liquid to cooker.
Meanwhile, add 1 tsp dried italian herb seasoning, 1 tsp dried oregano, and 1 tsp dried basil to cooker. Stir. Add 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (trust me, it really ramps up the meat flavor) to cooker. (I told you it was non-traditional).
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown 1 pound lean ground beef. Transfer beef to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Add 1 pound ground lamb to skillet. Brown. Transfer lamb to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Add 1 pound ground pork to skillet. Brown. Transfer pork to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Add meats to cooker. (BTW, on all three meats, I had my butcher grind them very coarse. Large pieces do better in the slow cooker. Also, I debated adding a pound of ground veal, but decided against it. I wanted several days worth of leftovers ... not a month!)
Prepare a mise en place of 2 oz finely diced pancetta, 1 medium yellow onion diced, 1 rib celery diced, 1 medium carrot diced. Slice 1 to 4 cloves garlic (depending on your taste, I like a lot) very, very thin. (If you know the famous dinner scene in Goodfellas, that's what you're trying to emulate when you slice the garlic. And, of course, that scene has good advice when it comes to adding onions to the sauce.)
Blot skillet dry with paper towels. Pour 1 tsp olive oil (not extra virgin) into skillet and heat on medium setting. Saute pancetta until it begins to crisp. Add onions, celery, and carrot. Saute until softened and just starting to turn golden. Add garlic to skillet. Stir. Add 4 tbsp tomato paste (again, I like Muir). Saute 1 minute. Add 1 cup white wine. Raise heat to high. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Transfer all to cooker.
Add enough low sodium organic beef broth to cover solids in cooker. Stir to combine. Cover. Walk away and clean up kitchen.
After 2 hours, reduce heat to low. Add 1 cup milk. After 2-4 hours more on the low setting, taste. Adjust seasonings with salt, freshly ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, nutmerg, and/or allspice to your taste. How long you cook it really depends on how much integrity you want the pieces of diced tomato to retain. I like them to remain fairly intact, so I err on the short end but YMMV.
Serve over fresh fettucine or papardelle (I prefer the latter). I like to top it with freshly grated Parmesan and a dash of very good extra virgin olive oil. Pour something red from Tuscany.
