Italian Sausage Hero Sandwiches - Festival Style

Yum! Doesn't this look good?

Did you ever eat an Italian Sausage Sandwich with Peppers and Onions at a festival? My mouth waters just thinking about it. In fact that's one of the main things that motivates me to go to an outdoor festival! They are so good! I found a recipe in a Country Living magazine in the early 80's , but I add mushrooms to mine too. I thought I'd share this with you and I know you will thank me. See recipe below.

I like my sausage cooked well and charred!

Ingredients

2 Hot Italian Sausages and 2 Sweet Italian Sausages (I used only sweet! They aren't really sweet, but are not as spicy as the hot). You can find the Kroger brand (see picture above) in the meat section near the pork.
2 Tablespoons butter
2 large sweet peppers - 1 green and 1 red (sometimes I use all green)
1 large onion (I use sweet)
1 or 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (you could use canned)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Note: If doubling the recipe, you may not want to double the spices. I did that and thought there were too many spices.
4 Hoagie buns
Continued below

Pepper, onion and mushroom mixture

Take the casing off the sausages. You can leave them on, but I think they are better without that. They won't fall apart.
Fry the Sausages on medium high heat in the butter till brown on all 4 sides. This may take 20 or more minutes. Turn up heat if you need to, depending on how much char you want on them. Place the Sausages on a pan in a preheated oven that's been set on warm. If you think they aren't quite done put the oven on 200.

In remaining butter in the pan, saute the peppers, onions and mushrooms for just a few minutes. You do not want to get them too done. They're better when they're still a little crisp. Add the chopped garlic and spices. Stir and cook another minute or two.
Serve immediately in hoagie bun. I think they're better if the bun is warmed in the microwave for 10 seconds or even better if the buns are slightly toasted in the oven.
I hope you enjoy this!

Breakfast / Brunch Casserole - GF Recipe

Breakfast/Brunch Casserole

I looked and looked on the internet for a breakfast casserole I wanted to fix for dinner tonight. Most of the recipes called for a layer of bread, croutons or crescent rolls. I am intolerant of wheat, so I didn’t want to use bread. You could say this recipe is gluten free. I came up with a combination of recipes, hoping mine would turn out okay without the bread. I even wondered if mine would be too soupy. It turned out perfect and was really good!

This yummy casserole has sausage, eggs, potatoes, cheese, onions, green pepper, mushroom soup and a few other ingredients.

I served fried Plantains sprinkled with brown sugar as a side dish. If you don’t know what Plantains are, they are cooking bananas. You aren’t supposed to eat them raw, because they wouldn't taste good and are meant to be cooked. You’ve probably seen them in the grocery store but didn’t know what they were. Plantains are usually next to the bananas in the produce section and are much bigger than a regular banana, but the skin looks darker. They’re sold separately, so you can buy just one. I’ve been eating Plantains since I was 5 yrs old when we lived in the Philippine Islands as missionaries in Zambongua City. I loved living there and have lots of good memories!

Update: one thing I didn't mention is that the darker the Plantain is, the sweet or is. If it's too hard it may be okay to fry but it won't be sweet.  I usually buy it almost black and sometimes wait til it's all black!

Breakfast / Brunch Casserole - serves 8 – 10

1 lb bulk Bob Evans breakfast sausage OR Ham
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup green pepper, chopped

3 - 4 cups frozen hash browns (or 3 - 4 large potatoes, shredded)
9 large eggs

¼ cup Bisquick (regular or gluten free)

1 regular size can evaporated milk (not the small one)

2 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

½ teaspoon dry mustard

dill weed (ground or fresh is ok)

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup + ½ soup can of milk (buy GF mushroom soup if your gluten intolerant)

Salt and pepper

Optional: fresh or canned mushrooms. You could also substitute the sausage with bacon or ham.

Directions
Set frozen potatoes out to thaw. Brown the sausage, breaking up pieces, drain and place evenly in the bottom of a 9” x 13” pan. Saute chopped onions and green pepper in same pan you used to cook sausage. Do not cook too long, just a few minutes is good. I don't like mine soggy. Remember they will cook more in the oven
While veggies are sauteing, place the shredded potatoes, spreading evenly, over sausage. Salt and pepper potatoes to taste. Next spread the onions and green peppers over top of potatoes. Sprinkle 1 cup cheese on top of potatoes and other veggies. Then layer (in this order) the sausage, onion, green peppers, and 1 cup cheese on top of this.

(Note – you don’t have to sauté the onions and green pepper, but if you do, don’t let them get too soft because they will cook while baking. Some people don’t like the veggies crunchy, so it’s up to you)

In a bowl, mix the eggs, canned milk and Bisquick with a whisk. Add dry mustard and dill weed to milk and egg mixture, mixing well. Pour this over the layered mixture (sausage, potatoes, cheese) in pan. Poke holes with fork so liquid will go to bottom. Salt and pepper this and then spread 1 cup cheese over top.

Wisk together mushroom soup with ½ soup can of milk. Spread evenly over top of other ingredients in pan. Sprinkle another ½ cup cheese (or more) all over top. Sprinkle a little more dill on top.

Bake in preheated 375º oven for 45 - 55 minutes, making sure the casserole is not soupy when you shake it. Check center for doneness also. Don’t over bake, or it will be too dry. I think the last 20 minutes I turned the heat down to 350º. Your oven may be different than mine, so just use your judgement as far as the temperature. Many recipes said 350º and the only reason I said 375º is because I thought mine may be soupy since I didn't use the bread.

This can be done the night before and put in the refrigerator overnight, but it doesn’t have to be refrigerated overnight like some recipes say. Hope you enjoy this! Serve with fruit.