Rustic Italian Sandwiches

I don't even know what to call this sandwich from today!

But we all called it good!

Life at my house is just like life at your house right now!

I'm not sure why Spring is this way . . . .

but it is ridiculously busy and I'm not too sure that I can say that I enjoy it all!

This weekend, we ate out twice!

T.W.I.C.E!

We just don't do that.

But today, driving home from church, I was tempted to just pick something up!

That would have made three times to have eaten out . . .

in ONE weekend!

UGH!

On the drive home, with the cherubs, we discussed what to do for lunch.

I already had Italian sausage thawed out in the refrigerator.

That was our start!

Here's what we did!

We made Rustic Italian Sandwiches.

This is nothing new for some of you, I'm sure!

But it was new for us and we sure did like it!

We are thankful for the bit of leftovers!

Somebody is going to be very happy at lunch one day this week!

Rustic Italian Sandwiches

1 pound ground Italian Sausage
1 TBSP olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, rough chopped
2 red peppers, sliced
4 ciabata rolls, or another hearty roll
Parmesan
basil** (gourmet garden brand)
mayonnaise
butter
spaghetti sauce, optional

In a large pan, heat about 1 TBSP of olive oil.

Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.

Add the chopped onion, stir to coat with a bit of the oil.  Cook about 3-5 minutes, just until it begins to become slightly tender.

Add the sliced peppers.  Again, stirring to coat with the bit of oil.  Cook another 5 minutes, or so, just until the peppers begin to become tender.

Add the ground Italian Sausage; breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon.  Continue to cook until no longer pink, stirring often to cook evenly and to break the meat into pieces.

While the meat is cooking, slice the bread.  Smear just a tab bit of butter on each side of the cut bread.  Place about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. of mayonnaise on one side of each roll with a squeeze of basil.  Mix together on the bread.  Top with a bit of grated Parmesan cheese and broil the bread until lightly toasted.

**http://karen-proverbs31.blogspot.com/2012/02/cilantro.html (This is for "cilantro" but the same company has basil also!  It's found in the product section of your grocery store!  It's amazing!)

If you want to use spaghetti sauce, heat this in the microwave until thoroughly hot.

Once the meat is completely cooked, you may want to remove some of the grease from the pan, as Italian Sausage can be very greasy.  (That is one of the reasons you only want to start with a smidge of olive oil, as not to have excess grease in your meal!)

Once the bread is toasted and the meat and veggie mixture is thoroughly cooked.  Place the bottom of the roll on a plate, top with meat and veggies.  If desired, spoon some spaghetti sauce over the meat and put the top bun in place.

Enjoy!