Dry Grilled Sausage and Peppers

One of the challenges of being a mom of a toddler is finding the time and energy to make healthy meals. It’s nice to have handful of no-brainer dishes that are lightening-quick to go to week after week. Here’s a favorite that fits into the twenty minutes or less category. I love this recipe because 1) it calls for the versatile and flavorful Chipotle Tabasco, 2) you can adjust the amounts of all the ingredients to your liking and 3) it actually tastes better if you use less oil. “Dry grilling” the vegetables in a cast iron pan creates the look and feel of veggies that were grilled outdoors. What a treat after a busy day!

Ingredients:

3-4 bell peppers, preferably a combination of red and green, cut into 1/2″ strips
1-2 onions, preferably a combination of yellow and red, cut in half and then sliced into 1/2″ half-moons
3-4 vegan sausages, cut on the bias*
1-2 tsp. oil, or a couple of spritzes from a spray oil
salt
pepper
Chipotle Tabasco sauce
whole wheat pita bread

Heat a large cast iron pan on high heat. Add the bell pepper strips to the pan. Stir occasionally, but try not to stir too often. The goal is to to cook the peppers so they get that sort of grilled flavor and color.  When the peppers are slightly undercooked (crisp-tender), put in a large bowl and set side. Using the same pan, add the onion slices.  Try and get them into one layer as best as you can, cook on high heat, and wait a minute or two before stirring.  Again, you’re trying to get that charred look. When the onions are slightly undercooked, add them to the bowl with the peppers.

In the same pan, heat up a small amount of oil on medium-high and add the sausage.  Cook until golden on both sides, remove from the heat, and add to the bowl of peppers and onions. By now the pepper and onions will have softened a bit. Add a few dashes of salt and pepper and a couple of splashes of Tabasco.  Toss well.

Serve on a plate or stuff into a pita pocket.

Yummers…..

*My favorite store-bought sausages for this dish are Tofurky keilbasa, Field Roast apple sage sausage, or Field Roast Italian. With a little advance planning, you can also make your own vegan sausage. More about that later!