Italian Chicken Sausage & Peppers Skillet

So, I've been a little MIA lately. Sorry about that.

I spent last weekend in Chicago, visiting a childhood friend--catching up, having some girl time, and shopping. Lots of shopping. Michele knows where all the good thrift stores and consignment shops are on the north side of Chicago, and we hit pretty much all of them, I think. I scored some great deals: a jacket, 2 pairs of jeans, a couple of skirts, and some tops--all for $30. That sounds impressive already, but even more so when I say that one of the jeans was a designer pair that usually retails for $200+ (of course, I didn't realize it was a designer brand until Michele told me, because I'm lame when it comes to fashion)!

Haha. Yes, I have the sense of humor of a 13-yr-old boy.

Another highlight of my trip: Dyson!

Luckily, Michele eats pretty healthfully anyway, and she went with me to a yoga class on Saturday. I also got a run in at a lake near their house on Sunday afternoon, and it actually felt really good to get outside and stretch and run, even if it was a little windy/chilly.

Anyway, between my trip and work (woowee, I've been busy! The textbook order for the English department is due tomorrow morning, and I only just got it finished.), I simply haven't had time to blog. Or cook. Really, I feel like it's been ages since I've made a meal.

So, when Ben came home last night with some Italian chicken sausage that he picked up at Just Good Meat (an Omaha butcher shop), I immediately thought of Italian sausage with peppers. Yum! I found this Italian Chicken Sausage and Peppers Skillet recipe, which is pretty healthy already, and lightened it up just a little more (reduced olive oil, reduced white wine, reduced pasta...).

Italian Chicken Sausage & Peppers Skillet

Ingredients  
1.5 lbs Italian chicken sausage
1 green pepper , sliced into strips  

1 red pepper , sliced into strips

1 yellow pepper , sliced into strips

1 onion , chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon italian seasoning  

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 (14.5 ounce) can tomatoes seasoned with basil garlic & oregano (I used Hunt's No Salt Added)

1/4 cup white wine

salt , to taste  

pepper , to taste 

Heat large skillet and add olive oil. Add sausage and brown on all sides. Remove sausage to cutting board.

Add onion to pan and cook about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Then add peppers, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper. Cook until crisp-tender.

While pepper mixture is cooking, cut sausage into bite sized pieces (center will still be raw). Then add back to skillet when peppers are just about done. Add tomatoes and wine and let come to boil. Turn down to simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered (or until sausage is cooked through). 

While the peppers were cooking, I also boiled some whole wheat rotini. I put about 1/2 cup of cooked rotini on my plate, and then topped it with 4 oz of the sausage and about 5 oz of the pepper/onion/tomato mix, along with a spoonful of liquid. Sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp of parmesan cheese, and you have an amazingly flavorful yet healthy dinner!

Nutrition Information for 1 Serving (recipe makes 6 servings)

Skillet without pasta:

Calories: 230
9.37g Fat, 85mg Cholesterol, 896mg Sodium, 12g Carb, 3g Fiber, 22.42g Protein