Slow Cooking: Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

Now with Instant Pot directions!

I usually make this dish in a Dutch oven, but yesterday I needed the flexibility of a slow cooker: my son had an eye-doctor appointment in the late afternoon. This recipe is not one that can go all day in the slow cooker; 3 to 4 hours on low gives perfect results. As a slow cooker has a larger capacity than a Dutch oven, you can double or even triple the recipe, adding about 1/2 hour of cooking time for each increase in ingredients.

Sausage and pepper sandwiches are family favorites because they’re inexpensive, easy to prepare and simple to serve. All you need is a green salad to complete the meal!

Kids don’t like cooked peppers and onions? No problem! Slice up a few extra bell peppers and let the kids have raw peppers on the side. You can easily serve the sausage without vegetables.

Frugal cook’s tip:  This recipe is a great way to use those oddly-shaped pepper pieces that are left over when you make a raw vegetable tray. I slice off the top and bottom of a pepper, then use the middle to make flat pieces for dipping. After trimming the tops and bottoms, I use them in dishes like this.

Sausage, Peppers & Onions

Makes 5 servings

1 1/2 lb. Italian sausage (sweet or hot)
2 cups onions, sliced or chopped in 2-inch dice
5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 1/2 cups bell peppers, sliced or chopped in 2-inch dice
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup marinara sauce (I use homemade)

SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400°. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Place sausage on baking sheet and cook 25 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and allow sausage to rest 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare vegetables.

Add vegetables to slow cooker. Slice cooked sausage into 1/2-inch pieces. Place in slow cooker on top of vegetables. Pour marinara sauce over top, sprinkle in crushed red pepper, and stir gently.

Cover slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.

Serve on crusty sandwich rolls OR over pasta with additional marinara sauce.

INSTANT POT DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400°. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Place sausage on baking sheet and cook 25 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and allow sausage to rest 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare vegetables.

Turn Instant Pot to sauté. When display indicates “Hot,” add 1 TBL olive oil to pot. Add onions and crushed red pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add peppers to pot and cook 3 minutes more.

Slice cooked sausage into 1/2-inch pieces. Place in Instant Pot on top of vegetables. Pour marinara sauce over top and stir gently.

Cover Instant Pot. Choose Slow Cook mode. Cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.

Serve on crusty sandwich rolls OR over pasta with additional marinara sauce.

Nutrition label does not include rolls or pasta.

Recipe and photo copyright 2015 Barb Szyszkiewicz for Cook and Count. All rights reserved.
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