Chicken Sausage, Peppers & Onions (Secret Recipe Club)

What makes a great recipe? Use of honest ingredients, time-tested, nostalgic perhaps, foolproof, inexpensive, and simple to prepare – and results in something that tastes great. I made a foolproof recipe recently that meets those criteria: chicken sausage, peppers, and onions (and tomatoes in my dish). It sticks to your ribs, but it’s still fresh, not heavy, and comes together in minutes. Where did I come up with (the base) of this delightful recipe? From Amy’s The Savvy Kitchen where she chronicles her low carb, low calorie, mostly gluten-free cooking, which was the blog I was assigned for this month’s Secret Recipe Club. Do check it out.

I do have a confession, however. I first made her recipe for cheddar, prosciutto, caramelized onions, and apple pizza because it screams “autumn!” to me, but I had a major fail. I’m talking colossal fail, so much so that we threw away the leftovers. And we eat everything. I have no idea what I did, but the apples were dry and lacked the interesting flavor combo Amy describes. Fortunately, her blog is jam-packed with many interesting dishes – appetizers, breakfast, lots of desserts, side dishes, and a plethora of entrees. I easily moved on, and we really enjoyed this dish. The recipe below reflects the changes I made to the original (link above).

Chicken Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Tomatoes

Serves 4

4 links chicken sausage, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 colored bell pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1 can whole tomatoes, crushed

Chili flakes to taste

Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Add the chicken sausage and cook until browned, turning occasionally for about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the skillet and cool slightly.

Heat the olive oil in the skillet. Add the onions, peppers, garlic, S&P, and Italian seasoning and cook until the vegetable are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. 

Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the Marsala wine, tomatoes, and chili flakes and stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan to get any brown bits (fond). Add cooked sausage and simmer until the sauce is warm and thickened.