Groundhog Day "Ground Hog" Recipe
Slow Cooker Sausage With Peppers & Onions is Quick & Easy
Sausage Qualifies as Ground Hog, and is Faster and Easier Than Cooking One of Those Little Rodents to Serve at a Groundhog Day Celebration!
Slow Cooker Italian Sausage with Peppers & Onions is a perfect dish to serve on Groundhog Day, which is held on February 2nd every year. Although this unique holiday doesn’t warrant a day off from work or school, it’s fun to celebrate anyway. Food, of course, is the best way to celebrate Groundhog Day.
Did you know that groundhogs are edible? There are brave souls around who actually eat these small rodents! However, since groundhogs are not readily available at grocery stores, serving a dish containing “ground hog” (pork) is a more reasonable option.
Italian Sausage can definitely be considered ground hog, and one of the easiest and best recipes using Italian sausage is the following Slow Cooker Italian Sausage with Peppers & Onions. This dish can actually be put together in just a few minutes of hands-on time in the morning, then left to cook all day. Classic Italian street food when served on freshly baked Italian buns, these sausages may also be served over creamy hot polenta or any kind of pasta.
A fresh tossed salad is an ideal accompaniment to the Italian Sausages; complete the meal by serving Chocolate Groundhog Cookies with ice cream or pudding for dessert.
Slow Cooker Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions
12 Servings
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 mild Italian sausages
- 6 hot Italian Sausages
- 2 red onions, cut in half then sliced very thin
- 2 red bell peppers, quartered then cut into thin slices
- 2 green bell peppers, quartered then cut into thin slices
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan.
2. Add the sausages and brown on all sides over high heat.
3. Transfer the sausages to the slow cooker.
4. Cover the sausages with the onions, peppers, garlic, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, fennel, salt, and pepper.
5. Cover and cook on low 5-7 hours.
6. If the mixture has a lot of liquid near the end of cooking, turn the slow cooker to high and set the lid a little to the side so that the excess water evaporates.
7. Serve over hot polenta, pasta, or on crispy Italian buns.
Nutritional Amounts Per Serving:
- Calories 328 Calories from Fat 224
- Percent Total Calories From: Fat 68% Protein 23% Carb. 9%
- Total Fat 25 g
- Saturated Fat 8 g
- Cholesterol 71 mg
- Sodium 1036 mg
- Total Carbohydrate 7 g
- Dietary Fiber 0 g
- Sugars 0 g
- Protein 19 g
- Vitamin A 16% Vitamin C 66% Calcium 0% Iron 9%
