Italian Sausage with Peppers

You can control the heat of this hearty meal-in-a-bowl by using sweet sausages, or a combination of hot and sweet.

Makes 4 servings

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 Bermuda onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 pound cooked hot Italian pork sausage
• 2 cups penne
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Sauté the onion, bell peppers, and fennel until vegetables turn golden, 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes longer. Stir in the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
2. Cut the sausage on the diagonal into 1-inch slices. Add the vegetable mixture; simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes longer. If the sauce becomes too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water.
3. Meanwhile, cook the penne according to the package directions; drain.
4. Add the basil, parsley, and penne to the sausage mixture; toss to combine.

Per Serving (1/4 of sausage-pasta mixture): 438 Cal, 20 g Fat, 6 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 44 mg Chol, 972 mg Sod, 50 g Carb, 6 g Fib, 16 g Prot, 89 mg Calc.

POINTS value: 10

TIP: Pork sausage is high in fat, but worth it for a once-in-a-while treat. You can substitute cooked turkey or chicken sausage for a lower fat content (and a lower POINTS value).

Comments: We used a beef sausage instead of pork, a large yellow onion instead of Bermuda and dried basil instead of fresh. We also cooked more penne to make enough pasta for lunch the next day. The meal was really good. I used hot pepper flakes in mine to spice it up. We also added some shredded parmesan cheese that we had from another meal. Tamara thought the meal tasted better the next day as leftovers.