Italian Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

Potty training has been really rocky today, so I am just going to make this post short and sweet. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com when I did a basic search for Italian Sausage and Peppers. The reviews look pretty good, and I have all the ingredients on hand. I am still doing my 'pantry challenge' until Sunday, so I am really, really trying not to run out to the store and get special ingredients for other recipes that look more enticing to me right now (holy run-on sentence, Batman!). As it is, I am sure that I am going to run out of milk soon, and I know I will have to go to the store (either tonight or tomorrow) to get that little necessity. I know for certain that dragging a partially potty-trained toddler to the supermarket sounds to me like the fifth dimension of hell. You can safely assume that I will wait until the husband gets home before I take any grocery store field trips (and more importantly, I will make sure to leave said partially potty-trained toddler with said husband at home, when I do go).

I think I will serve half hot and half sweet sausage, and I may even put some tomatoes or tomato paste into the mix...just to use up what I have in the fridge. I have some stale whole-wheat hamburger buns that need to go, so I think I will toast those to hide the staleness and call it good. This should be a pretty easy dinner, which I will totally need this evening. I am not sure what I will serve as side items, but rest assured there will be no culinary challenges tonight. Whatever I make will be a "no brainer".

Italian Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

Ingredients:
6 (4 ounce) links sweet Italian sausage
2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 large red bell pepper, sliced
1-2 green bell pepper, sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Place the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown on all sides. Remove from skillet, and slice.

2. Melt butter in the skillet. Stir in the yellow onion, red onion, and garlic, and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in red bell pepper and green bell pepper. Season with basil, and oregano. Stir in white wine. Continue to cook and stir until peppers and onions are tender.

3. Return sausage slices to skillet with the vegetables. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, or until sausage is heated through.

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Jen's Notes:
I don't have dried basil, so I will substitute dried Italian Seasoning. I think that has dried basil in it anyway. The other option is to finish the dish with fresh basil, which I also have in my veggie drawer. Also, I have three different colored (green, red, yellow) peppers on hand, so my dish will be colorful. Yum...I love the taste and smell of cooked onions and peppers!!! I can't wait for dinner!!!! One more note, I am using a combo of hot and sweet Trader Joe's Chicken Sausage. We have a family of three people, so I am only cooking two links of each. More veggies and less meat is always a good thing anyway.



The Result:
Awesome! This is definitly a keeper. Absolutely easy and delish! I can't believe I actually just used the word "delish". Anyway, I nixed the fresh basil and followed the recipe otherwise. I did add about 1/2 of a can of diced tomatoes with their juice to the pan and some water. Oh, and I probably used about 1/2 cup of dry white wine. I added the sausage back in and let it all simmer and the water evaporate. Okay...maybe I didn't follow the recipe all that well. It was so yummy, and filling enough for the sandwiches to stand alone without any side items (read: I was too lazy to make side dishes). I love that this dish could be very versatile as well...the leftovers would be great on pasta or as a pizza topper. Overall, this is exactly what I was looking for in an easy Italian Sausage and Peppers one-pot meal.