This recipe is part of the 20 Slow Cooker Freezer Packs from Costco for $150 meal plan.
I’m often asked about my “5 minute meals”. Usually by people who know someone who knows me. They get the whole time-dollar thing mixed up. But if I were to start coming up with 5 minute meals, this would be first on the list. Because it takes you less than 5 minutes to get our your slow cooker, get out the ingredients (unless for some strange reason you pantry is on the other side of the house from your kitchen?!?), load the slow cooker and turn in on. In less than 5 minutes. Then the 1-2 minutes you have to spare will be to prepare the bread once meal time rolls around…
5 minutes. That’s what I’m giving this one for prep time.
Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Spicy Sausage and Peppers
Yield – 4 servings
Preparation Time – 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time – 8-10 hours in slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb. sausage links, sliced (or 4-5 sausage links for the Costco Meals plan #2!)
- 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 2 10 oz. bags frozen pepper and onion blend, (or 2 peppers, seeded and diced plus 1 onion, sliced)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Whole wheat bread slices, or sliced french baguette, or dinner rolls (or serve with rice as we did in the picture above)
Directions
- Place sausage in the slow cooker. Slice carefully or cut with kitchen shears. Pour the diced tomatoes, diced tomatoes with green chilies, and the 2 bags of frozen pepper and onion blend over the top. Give it a swirl. Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Prepare the bread or rice.
- Serve Slow Cooker Spicy Sausage and Peppers with sliced bread (or rice).
Just this morning I bought some sausage that was marked down at the grocery store and I have chopped peppers and onions from the summer in my freezer. You just gave me an idea for one night this week!
Thanks for the linkup.
This sounds delicious and easy-great combo. I am wondering if the sausages could stay whole in the crockpot? Thanks for the great idea!
They certainly could be whole Anne…I just cut them up so I could just serve it right onto the boys’ plates without too much fuss. Enjoy!
Thanks for the invite to list some links. One day, I am going to write up a guest post and send it because I have so many recipes! Just not enough time in the day.
Black Beans & Beef Chili: http://www.pennysaved-pennyearned.com/blog/2011/10/recipe-black-beans-and-beef-chili/
Creamy Paprika Chicken: http://www.pennysaved-pennyearned.com/blog/2011/09/stovetop-cooking-creamy-paprika-chicken/
“Baked” Spinach Ziti (in the Microwave): http://www.pennysaved-pennyearned.com/blog/2011/09/baked-spinach-ziti-in-the-microwave/
Yum Tabitha! I’d love a guest post…for when you have a free minute at 1 or 2 am 😉
Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!
Erin
Amazing! This is going on my menu plan this week! Simple and VERY allergy friendly 🙂 Perfection!
I have a very similar recipe only it’s stove top and ready in minutes. It also has more of a smoky, caramelized flavor. It’s one of my favorites!
http://thebigredpot.blogspot.com/2010/06/sausage-and-peppers-over-rice.html
I’m wondering if the sausage is a Polska Kielbasa type or an Italian type?
Do you think this would be better served with rice or noodles? When cooking for my parents I am always trying to find more spicy things to appease my father. XD
I’ll have to try this one for sure! Just brought the slow cooker out again today.
I was wondering the same thing, what kind of sausage did you use?
I just made this tonight and oh my goodness!!!! Delicious! 😀 (I LOVE spicy so I used hot italian sausage). 😀
Oh yeah, and instead of the regular diced tomatoes, I used crushed (they were already in my pantry) and I served over whole wheat pasta instead of with bread. 😀 Using the crushed made it more sauce like.
Love the crushed tomatoes idea…might do that next time. Glad you enjoyed them!
Erin
Tried this last night. It was GREAT! I was short on onion and bell pepper but it worked anyway. I used real green chile in the recipe since I live in New Mexico where we use the real stuff not canned. Delicious! Thank you for this site. I have used it in the past off and on but this year it is ON!
Why type sausage do you use? I’m assuming real, fresh sausage and not the fully cooked kind right?
Are the diced tomatoes with chiles missing from the ingredient list? Or is that what you’re supposed to use as the can of diced tomatoes? Looks delicious (and easy!) but I don’t want to mess it up.
I had the exact same question…. Are the tomatoes listed supposed to contain green chilis, or was the can with green chilis ommitted, meaning one can each?
We made this today! Happened to have one pack left of the three that come in the chicken and apple sausage from Costco in the freezer. Sliced up yellow and orange peppers as well as two smaller onions. And then I used two 10oz cans of rotel, because for some reason I have like six in my pantry. We had it over buttered egg noodles. Liked it a lot! Awesome pantry meal for the future (and the house smelled great all afternoon!).
Sounds great but what about the people who need a 9-10 hour slower cooker recipe. Most work 8 hours and do not live around the corner from the house. Help.
For a 9-10 hour slow cooker recipe I’d put everything in the cooker turned on and set to low, then plug it into one of those timers (we use them for our Christmas lights) and set it to power up 8 hours before you want to eat.
Janet – one possible option would be to find a slow cooker that has a timer feature so that you can program it to start 8 hours before you’ll arrive home.
Janet, I have the same problem. A couple of years ago I bought a GE 6 quart slow cooker at Wal-mart. When the time I set it for is up, it automatically switches over to “Warm” so it stops cooking, but I still have a warm meal to come home too. I don’t know if it’s being sold anymore, but I’m sure there’s got to be another brand with that same feature.
I noticed on some of these you have directions on how to bag ingredients to freeze and on others you have it listed how to prepare. Does that mean that on those meals you don’t have freezing instructions that you should not put together and freeze for cooking later??
please reply.