Italian Sausage and Rice

I whipped this up for dinner one Saturday night when I didn’t really want to cook.  It was fast, easy and tasty.  While I was eating I thought how versatile this recipe could be.

The topping could be put over pasta, pizza crust, used to fill an omelet or mixed with eggs for frittata, broiled on thick slices of French bread…the possibilities are endless.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
• 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups uncooked rice
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 can Fire Roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup Italian style or Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Brown the sausage with the garlic and onion.  While the meat browns, cook the rice according to the package directions.

When the meat is cooked, drain the grease and rinse under hot water to remove the extra fat.  In the same skillet, cook the peppers until they are tender-crisp.  Add in the sausage and the can of diced tomatoes.  Let this simmer for a few minutes over medium heat.

Serve over the cooked rice and top with cheese.

This whole meal took about 20 minutes to fix.  Not too bad, since I didn’t want to cook that night.  What’s your fall-back plan when you really don’t want to cook, but you’re not going to spend money eating out?