crock'in the crock pot...

Photo belongs to Iowa Girl Eats

I made this last Sunday and put it in the refrigerator overnight to cook on Monday. Brilliant, right?  My thinking was that Day One Dinner would be sandwiches and Day Two Dinner would be pasta. Doesn't that sound perfect?  Okay, okay, this took a bit of time to prep as all of the ingredients were browned before dumping them in the crock pot for extra flavor but the result was wonderful!!!
A beautiful, deep red colored sauce with a rich taste that was just plain scrumptious.

Crock Pot Sausage and Peppers via Iowa Girl Eats

serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 3lbs gluten-free Sweet Italian Sausage links, cut in half, or thirds if large (I used Johnsonville brand)
• salt and pepper
• 2 yellow onions, cut in half then sliced
• 3 small or 2 large green bell peppers, sliced (can mix different colors if you like!)
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon (or more) red chili pepper flakes
• 28oz can gluten-free tomato sauce
• 28oz can gluten-free crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup gluten-free chicken broth

Directions

1. Drizzle a small amount of grapeseed or vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium/medium-high heat (6/10 on the heat scale.) Add half or a third of the sausages (depending on how big your skillet is,) then brown for a minute or two on all four sides, or until golden brown, then transfer to a 6-quart crock pot (sausage does not need to be cooked all the way through.) Repeat with remaining sausage then add to crock pot.
2. Turn heat up to medium-high then add onions to skillet, season with salt and pepper, and saute until just beginning to become tender, 3-4 minutes then add to crock pot.
3. Add bell peppers to skillet, season with salt and pepper, then saute until crisp tender, 4-5 minutes, adding a drizzle more oil if necessary to keep peppers from burning. Add garlic then saute for 1 more minute, and then add peppers and garlic to crock pot.
4. Add red chili pepper flakes, a little pit of salt and pepper, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and chicken broth to crock pot then cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until sausages are very tender. Serve over pasta or inside rolls with provolone cheese on top.