Favorite Meal of the Week: Sausage & Peppers

Our favorite meal this week was hands down the sausage and peppers tossed with pasta and cheese. We struggle with our daughter any time there is a meal with bell peppers involved. This meal will be a keeper though! She ate 2 bowls of the dish and I was wishing I had made more. She said, "Mommy this is my favoritest meal ever."

What's In It:

• 4 links of sausage (I used 2 mild Italian and 2 sweet because that's what I had in the freezer)
• 1/2 each red, yellow and green bell peppers
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2-3/4 box of pasta (based on the standard 1 lb. size box; any shape)
• cheese (We like Romano, but Parmesan will work, too.)

How I Made It:

1. Remove sausage from casings if you so choose. I usually just slice mine in the casing while the links are still partially frozen. Do whatever works for you. You can also buy the sausage without any casing at all; it looks like ground meat and is very easy to use.
2. In a skillet saute sausage, peppers, and onions until sausage is cooked through and peppers are tender to your liking.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions on the box.
4. After pasta is done cooking, drain thoroughly and place in a large bowl. Add sausage mixture to the pasta and some cheese (start small, maybe 1/4 C). Toss.
5. Serve with more cheese on top if desired. (We desire!)

Notes:

• I served this with watermelon on the side, too.
• Salting water for the pasta is optional. If you've got someone in your family with high blood pressure, like we do, then you'll want to avoid this.
• I bought my peppers when they were on sale cheaper than the frozen bags of the same thing. I sliced them myself and put them in freezer bags to store. You could add onions to the bag, too, but my hand was tired. When I run out of these bags, peppers will no longer be on sale and I will switch to the frozen bags with the peppers and onions all ready to go.
  
• We used pasta that had Omega-3 added to it along with additional fiber. You can use whatever pasta your family enjoys.