Italian Sausage with Peppers & Onions: The Dinner of Champions

Add penne pasta, asparagus, garlic bread & pretty basil leaves for a complete meal

Kevin and Alexis ran the half-marathon in San Antonio today while I sat on the couch, watched football and ate potato chips, so I decided to reward these world class athletes with a feast fit for a champion. Combined with finishing off the Kaya Toast, I made sure to load them with enough carbs that they would have been retroactively carbo-loaded for the race.

Italian Sausage with Peppers & Onions

Modified from AllRecipes.com

Servings: 8

Time: 40 minutes

8 links Italian sausage (I used chicken with mozzarella)

2 tbsp butter

1 yellow onion, diced

1 red onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper, sliced thinly

1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly

Fresh basil, minced

1 tsp dried oregano
1/3 cup white wine

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1. Brown all sides of the sausage over medium heat then remove from the pan and slice.
2. Sauté the onions and garlic in butter until soft and translucent.
3. Add the peppers, basil, oregano and white wine and cook until the white wine is reduced by half.
4. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and sausage. Cook covered at a light simmer for 15-25 minutes (make sure the peppers are tender).
5. Serve on bread or pasta.

I reminded them beforehand that dinner was for winners. This certainly was the impetus behind their success.

This is a quick and easy meal that is about as hearty as can be. The bold and manly flavors come together fantastically and go perfectly with a lazy Sunday night of watching football. It's a great way to spice up ordinary pasta or can be used to make delicious deli style sandwiches. There are two easy ways to vary this. You can substitute beer for wine, which I actually think tastes more authentic (but should naturally be Michelob Ultra if right after exercise), or you can leave the crushed tomatoes out to keep the mess to a minimum (especially if you're not using it for pasta). No matter what you choose, you'll be left with an incredible dish that is bursting with flavor and almost impossible to mess up. Just be sure to notify your cardiologist in advance before inevitably going back for seconds (arteries are for suckers anyway).

Now that's the plate of a man who just ran a half marathon... and immediately undid all that exercise

Vegetarian Note: I previously made the vegetarian version of this dish with veggie sausage. I can't recommend it enough. The flavors still come through magnificently, and the meal provides an excellent source of protein.

The vegetarian version minus tomato but with jalapenos.