Street Fair Sausages with Peppers and Onions

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Serves 4

Cooking Time 2 to 3 hours on Low

Slow Cooker Size 5½ to 7 Quarts

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: For a fun and easy weeknight meal, we used the slow cooker to make super-flavorful peppers and onions together with perfectly cooked Italian sausage. First, we jump-started the vegetables in the microwave to ensure that they’d cook through, then we added them to the slow cooker and nestled in raw Italian sausages. To season the vegetables as they cooked, we used a potent mixture of chicken broth, tomato paste, and garlic. As they simmered, the peppers and onions absorbed the flavors of the sausage and braising liquid. Once the sausages were cooked through, all we needed to do was strain the peppers and onions and pile them high on sub rolls with the tender, juicy sausages. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.

2	red or green bell peppers, cored and cut into ¾-inch-wide strips
2	onions, sliced into ½-inch-thick rings
2	tablespoons tomato paste
1	tablespoon vegetable oil
1	teaspoon minced garlic
½	cup chicken broth
1½	pounds hot or sweet Italian sausage
	Salt and pepper
4	(6-inch) sub rolls

1. Microwave peppers, onions, tomato paste, oil, and garlic in bowl, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes; transfer to slow cooker. Stir in broth. Nestle sausage into slow cooker, cover, and cook until sausage is tender, 2 to 3 hours on low.

2. Transfer sausage to cutting board and tent with aluminum foil. Strain vegetable mixture, discarding liquid, and transfer to bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cut sausage into 2-inch pieces. Serve on rolls with pepper-onion mixture.