My brother will occasionally ship me some wonderful Portuguese sausage that he gets in Boston (a city with a sizable Portuguese community, I am told). Here is how I prepare it, but I think this recipe will also work well with other sausage types. Hot or sweet Italian sausage come instantly to mind. The sausage my brother sends comes pre-cooked. Prepare uncooked sausage ahead of time and remember to always cook pork products thoroughly to the recommended temperature.


Saucy Sausage & Peppers

1/2 each green, yellow, and red bell pepper
1/2 medium sized onion
1 1-pound package pre-cooked sausage (Chourizo or Linguica)
1 15-oz can tomato sauce

Cut the tops off the peppers, halve them and clean out the seeds. Save half of each pepper for another day. Cut the remaining pepper halves into strips. Prepare a skillet with cooking spray or a light coating of oil, add the peppers. Cook covered over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

While the peppers are cooking, slice the onion in half, again saving half for another day. Cut the half onion into thick slices and further divide those into quarters or sixths. Add these onion chunks to the peppers. Continue to cook the vegetables, covered, stirring occasionally, until they are tender and just beginning to brown.

While the combined vegetables are cooking, remove the casing from the sausage and break it into bite-sized chunks. When the vegetables are just beginning to brown, add the sausage and pour the tomato sauce into the skillet. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 10 minutes or until heated through.

Serve over rice or with buttered bread.

Total time about 30-40 minutes. Serves 3-4.