Sausage & Peppers

This is a recipe of my own creation after having experienced 2 things: One was this fabulous little dish they used to serve at Carrabba's Italian Grille that involved italian sausage, marinara, rigatoni and a big slab of goat cheese. The second was when my good friend Cara came over to make a dish like this and awakened my heart and soul to the fact that I really DO like red bell peppers- if they're cooked right.

4 bell peppers (I detest green ones, but love the color variation of red, orange & yellow ones)
4 italian sausage links (turkey sausage doesn't save you much in calories and fat, so I say go for the good stuff (Canino's in Denver makes delicious ones that are 150 calories per link and 13g of fat.)
1-2 yellow onions, depending on the size (and your particular taste for carmelized onion)
1/2 jar thick marinara (make your own or just buy some)
Goat cheese (buy it in the tube instead of crumbled, if you can)
Olive oil

slice up the bell peppers in thin, long slices, discarding the seeds & white stuff. Try to get them roughly the same size. Slice the onion(s) similarly. In a very large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat (any higher and you'll scorch the bell pepper). Add the bell peppers only for the first 5-8 minutes. Then add the onions and reduce the heat to medium-low. The secret to fabulously carmelized veggies is low heat, and long cooktime. Give this about 15 more minutes, or until the onions are nice and brown and the bell peppers are soft, yea even supple.

While the bell peppers are cooking, slice the sausage into bite sizes, keeping them roughly the same size. Create some space in the pan so the sausage can be directly on the bottom, and turn the heat back up to medium. Cook until the sausage is cooked through- I don't have an exact time.

Once that's just about done, add some marinara, just a little at a time. I like mine thick, to eat with a spoon, so I don't put in a ton. The longer you let the sauce cook, the thicker it will get as the water evaporates out. Plate the sausage and peppers and add a big dollop of goat cheese on top. Enjoy.