Italian Sausage and Peppers

Here is a great "Prep-It, Set-It and Forget It" recipe that I have come up with for Italian Sausage and Peppers. It only takes about 30 minutes to prep and then the crockpot does the rest. I love the crockpot because you can make more things than you probably ever dreamed of and everything comes out pretty much perfect each time. The slow cook of a crockpot prevents drying out of meats, allows vegetables to tenderize and the flavors to infiltrate the dish and spices to fully breakdown and supply both flavor and aromatics. Plus, once you set it, you don't need to fuss with it - just Set-It and Forget It!

One note, slow cooker and crockpot are interchangeable, so if you see me using crockpot, I mean slow cooker.

So, here is the shopping list for Italian Sausage and Peppers. Some of these things you may already have in your kitchen/pantry, but if not, they are not expensive to pick-up at the local supermarket.

This dish serves 4-6 people, depending on how large the portions are. This recipe fits a 6-quart crockpot. For smaller crockpots, use 2 lb. of sausage, 1-2 green peppers, 1 red pepper and 1 medium onion, 1 small onion. Reduce each of the spices by a pinch and use 2 cloves of garlic.

Prep: 30 minutes Cook Time: 4.5 Hours

Ingredients:

3lb. of Italian Sausage (links or large coil) - Sweet or Hot, your preference (I like sweet)
2 Cans Beef Broth or Stock (14.5 oz each)
2 Green Bell Peppers (cut into 1/4" strips)
2 Red Bell Peppers (cut into 1/4" strips)
2 Medium Yellow Onions (sliced into 1/4" thick rings, then halved)
3 Cloves of Garlic, Sliced or Minced
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil (can use vegetable oil)
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Black Pepper
2 tsp. Dried Oregano
1 tsp. Dried Basil
2 Bay Leaves

Directions:

As I always say, prep your ingredients in advance. However, with this dish, everything is in the prep, so first, cut your vegetables. For the peppers, first remove the seed core by inserting your knife into the top of the pepper (the tip of the knife should just touch the stem - do not cut the pepper in half) and slice downward to the bottom. Do this on four sides (the blade should never go more than 1/2" into the pepper). This will allow you to peel the pepper away from the seed core. After pulling the pepper apart, remove any remaining seeds and slice 1/4" strips lengthwise down the pepper. For the onion, remove the skin by first cutting off the top and bottom of the onion stem, then make a shallow slice into the first layer of onion from top to bottom and peel off the skin and first layer of onion. Then slice 1/4" thick rings horizontally. After slicing the rings, halve the rings and break apart all the layers. This should leave you with 1 1/2" stips about 1/4" wide. For garlic, remove the skin from each clove (follow onion directions) and thinly slice. If you are not comfortable slicing garlic, simply place the entire clove in a garlic press (you can leave the skin on, though you get more garlic if you remove it) and mince the garlic.

^Tip^ Always wash vegetables before eating them. Onions are ok because you are moving the exterior skins, but always clean peppers, tomatoes and other vegetables that have exposed edible parts.

Next, heat a large non-stick skillet on medium-low to medium heat. Pour 1 Tbsp. Oil into pan and allow to heat up until shimmering. Place sausage in the skillet and brown on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Once browned, reduce heat to low and cover for about 10 minutes, rotating sausage once. This will partially cook the sausage, which is necessary to avoid the sausage falling apart when you cut it.

While sausage is browning, place peppers, onions, garlic, spices (salt, pepper, basil, oregano, bay leaves) and beef broth/stock into the crock pot and set heat to high. If your crockpot has a timer feature, set it to 4.5 hours. Cover and continue browning sausage.

Once sausage has finished, place in crockpot on top of onions and peppers (if you purchased a coil of sausage, cut into 4" long pieces first, then place in crock pot). Nestle the sausage into the peppers and onions, moving some of the vegetables on top of the sausage.

Replace cover and allow to cook. As peppers and onions breakdown from cooking, the sausage will naturally settle into the stock, adding a ton of flavor and allowing the spices to fully mix with the dish.

When the crockpot completes its cycle, spoon out contents to a large bowl and serve. Sausage and Peppers can be served with rolls for sandwiches or over pasta, rice or mashed potatoes for those staying away from bread. Make sure to spoon stock into the bowl to keep peppers and onions moist and to allow people to use on their sandwiches or as a gravy for their pasta or potatoes.

This recipe is really full of flavor and very easy to make. Start it earlier in the day to have a wonderful dinner ready by suppertime!

**I GOT THE PICTURES - YAY!**

Good luck with this dish and as always...

Yours in cooking,
Chris