Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions, and Spicy Marinara

I don't know about you, but around my house we love spaghetti. Spaghetti with meat sauce, baked spaghetti, you get the picture. It's a staple, go t0-meal for many families. Sausage with peppers is a popular Italian dish, but as a family who doesn't eat pork or pork by-products it can be difficult to find a sausage that doesn't have a pork casing. So when I found this sweet Italian turkey sausage with a halal casing I picked up a pack and did a little experimenting. I've made sausage before, so a homemade turkey Italian sausage may be coming your way in the future but that's another post for another day. As for today, the store bought ones will do.

This meal was simple to make, DELICIOUS, and an all around crowd pleaser at a dinner table manned by a husband with a particularly discerning palate and a two year old. Not to mention that it's nutritious with a low fat, low calorie turkey sausage, homemade marinara, whole wheat pasta and crisp, fresh veggies. If you're looking for a 20 minute dinner, look no further.

To summarize: this dinner was DAMN good! Just thinking about it makes me want another bite, but I'll leave some turkey Italian sausages at the store for you. You can thank me later ;)

What You'll Need:

1 or 2 sausages per person (how hungry are you?)
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 white onion (I used a sweet Vidalia)
1 box whole wheat pasta
1 28- oz. can crushed tomatoes, drained of excess liquid
1/2 ts. crushed red pepper
2 cloves garlic, sliced in 1/2
2 tb. olive oil
1 1/2 tb. Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

Boil water for pasta, and add salt before adding the pasta. Be sure to give the pasta a good stir so that it doesn't stick. Add about 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of a medium skillet on medium high heat, add sausages, and cover. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the sausages from the pan, and wipe dry with a paper towel. Let the pan heat up again, then add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan. Heat the oil and add the sausages back to the pan to brown on all four sides. Remove the sausages and add the sliced onions and peppers, with a pinch of (kosher) salt. Cook the onions and peppers until they are tender-crisp (you can pierce them easily with a fork, but they are still firm). For the sauce, add the other tablespoon of olive oil, the crushed red pepper and the garlic to a pan over medium heat and cook for 30 seconds before adding the crushed tomatoes. Add the Italian seasoning and sugar, if you desire it. Heat the sauce through, and remove the garlic cloves before serving. Then let the sausage eating contest begin, and I guarantee it will be a tight race!

Oh, and I used roasted garlic and garlic oil for the sauce/peppers. But that's another post for another day :)