That's a Spicy Meat-uh-ball-uh...I mean Sausage!

The other day I opened my refrigerator and got a little nervous looking at all the peppers I decided to buy at the market. What the H was I going to do with 10 Italian roasting peppers, 2 bell peppers, 2 Anaheims, like 20 cayenne peppers and the list goes on people. I got a little crazy. 

Anyways, I went for a good, old family favorite. Sausage and peppers (spiced up a bit!). The Italian roasting and bell peppers made it an obvious choice, but adding a little heat with the other peppers really gave the dish a little zinger.

A crock pot full of sausage and peppers cooking away at my parents' house, a giant  pan at a family reunion, or walking into my Grandma's house with the lingering smell of sausage and peppers waiting on the stove is what me and my sister were thinking of when we sat down to eat dinner. Mom and Gram would love this recipe. While it is almost exactly the same as theirs, the variety of peppers really seals the deal on this recipe. Whatever you do, don't skimp out on the garlic. If anything, keep adding more. Even if your significant other won't want to kiss you for a week, just keep throwing it in. They'll come around.

Hot Sausage and Hot Peppers

1 lb hot Italian sausage link (4 inch slices)

3 small onions or 1.5 large (thinly sliced)

1 green bell pepper (thinly sliced strips, all peppers)

4 large Italian roasting peppers (mild heat)

1 large Anaheim pepper

1-2 large hot peppers (your favorite)

7 cloves garlic (minced) (or more)

2 bay leaves

olive oil

salt and pepper

crusty bread for dipping or making sandwiches

Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add a couple tablespoons of good olive oil and add the sausage links. Cook all sides just until the skins brown and crisp up. The center of the sausage should still be pink. Remove the sausage from the pan and transfer to a plate and set aside. 

Lower the heat to medium and add sliced onions to the pan with lots of salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes and add ALL the garlic. Cook for 2 minutes and add all the slices of hot and sweet peppers. Add some more salt and pepper and the bay leaves. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until the peppers begin to soften and the juices from the veggies are released. Add the sausage back to the pan and cook for 10 more minutes.

Serve this tasty and spicy dish up with lots of crusty bread. There will be tons of juice at the bottom of the pan, so for the love of God, please bring that pan to the table and soak every last bit up. Don't even think about tossing it.