Sausage and Eggplant Sauce

I never had eggplant until we joined the CSA, so I have been experimenting with new ways to have it.  Hummus worked well, now I made an eggplant sauce.  One of the best things is that it is made in a slow cooker - I highly recommend a slow cooker liner.

16 ounces hot italian sausage

3 cups eggplant - peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces

1/4 cup garlic, minced

3 lbs tomatoes - seeded, diced

14 ounce tomato sauce

6 ounces italian tomato paste

3/4 cup red wine

3 tbl dried italian herbs

Cook italian sausage in a large skillet until browned.  While cooking, add prepared eggplant to slow cooker.  When sausage is cooked, drain and transfer to a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker.  

Add garlic to sausage pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, add tomatoes.  Cook tomatoes until soft, process lightly with a stick blender.  Add remaining ingredients and stir then pour over sausage.

Cook on high heat setting for about 4 hours.