In a large skillet on the stove-top, brown and crumble the ground beef until fully cooked. Drain off excess fat and add meat to a 6 quart or larger slow cooker.
Cut Italian sausages into 1 inch pieces and add to the slow cooker.
Add remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, stirring every 2 hours to prevent the sauce from sticking on the sides.
Remove bay leaves from sauce and discard.
Serve sauce over cooked pasta or zucchini noodles (zoodles), adding freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
*I don't own a garlic press (gasp!) so I minced my garlic. The original recipe called for pressing it. You should check the sauce about every hour in the last 2 hours of cooking.