Eat-Out-At-Home: DiRusso's Italian Sausage Sandwiches

This is another recipe born out of my deep longing for home food.  You know, it's kind of funny, I've lived in Utah for 6 years now, and I still call Ohio home.  And one thing my home state does well, is food.  Especially fair food.  Utah has no clue what fair food is, and let me tell you Utahns something very important.  Pay close attention here.  Krusteaz scone batter does NOT a funnel cake make, nor do Costco corn dogs make true fair food.  Now, my Mom's absolute favorite fair food is this delicious conglomeration of sausage, and red sauce, and mozzarella cheese, and delicious bread....all wrapped up in a square of tin-foil so you can take it with you all over the fair.  Otherwise known as the DiRusso's Italian Sausage Sandwich.

My Mom tells me that DiRusso's now sells their amazing sausages in the frozen food sections of the local grocery stores, so she can replicate them at home.  Unfortunately, my local grocery stores have not responded to my repeated requests to stock my favorite home foods, in particular the Ohio trifecta (Pierre's Cookie Dough Ice Cream, Dan Dee Cheesies, and DiRusso's Italian Sausage).  Lucky for me, my sweet Mamma always has her house stocked with the trifecta each time I come home for a visit. However, when I'm craving it here, in Utah, I've got to find some other way to satisfy my desires than hopping a plane to Ohio, because that would get old, and very expensive!

These sandwiches are delicious, and VERY easy to make.  While we may not have the DiRusso's brand sausage here (which does make a difference, by the way), we do have a couple of really good brands.  My favorite?  Colossimo's original sausage.  They used to sell it at Costco, but lately I've only seen the Red Wine version, which I don't like nearly as much.  I find it at Smith's now.  It's more expensive, but worth it in the end.  You can use whatever type of sausage you like, mild, hot, sweet, etc, but I prefer a mild sausage for this, the sweet just doesn't have the same "pop!" I like in the mild.

Also, you will notice that I add the vegetables in two phases.  There is a good reason for this.  You add the first batch in right at the very start, because you want your sausage to pick up the flavors from them.  It will really infuse into them, and change the flavor, for the better.  But, you don't want to add them all at once, because you will be adding water to them, and you don't want to be stuck with soggy veggies.  These sandwiches are incredibly simple to make, you'll be shocked at what great flavor you can get from such simple ingredients.

On a housekeeping note, if you scroll to the very bottom of this post, you can find a plain-text version of this recipe. I'm still working out the kinks of a print function.

Hallelujahs: Simple, Fresh Ingredients, Easy, Delicious
Hellfires: I can't think of any, other than the fact that Utah doesn't stock DiRusso's Italian Sausage.
Variations: Next time, I think Jon and I are going to sear them on the grill first, so we can get that smokey flavor in here, too.

Italian Sausage Sandwiches

5-6 Italian Sausages
1 Large Onion
2 Bell Peppers (whatever colors you have on hand)
Salt/Pepper to Taste
1 Jar of your Favorite Spaghetti Sauce (or homemade if you're feeling really daring)
Mozzerella Cheese
Sub Rolls


-Slice your vegetables.
-Place sausages, and half the vegetables in a frying pan on medium heat.

-Add Salt and Pepper to taste
-Sear the sausages on each side. You want to get some brown bits on the bottom of the pan (from the sausage, AND the veggies), without burning them.

-Add 1-1 1/2 cups of water to deglaze pan. Cover the sausages and turn heat down to 3-4. Simmer for about 20 minutes or so.
-Meanwhile, Toast your rolls

-Once sausages have simmered in water for approximately 20 minutes, remove lid, and increase heat so that the water evaporates.
-Add in the rest of your vegetables, and heat until hot, but still crisp.
-Heat your spaghetti sauce in a saucepan on the stove (or in the microwave)

-Once the sausages, and sauce are finished, make your sandwich! Place the sausage on the roll, add some cheese, then some sauce, then more cheese, and your veggies. If, like me, you're picky, and like the flavor of the veggies, but not biting into one, leave them out. You'll still have all the flavor of them cooked into the meat!
-If your cheese isn't melting, you can place these under the broiler, for a couple of minutes, too.


Plain Text Recipe:

Italian Sausage Sandwiches
5-6 Italian Sausages
1 Large Onion
2 Bell Peppers (whatever colors you have on hand)
1 Jar of your Favorite Spaghetti Sauce (or homemade if you're feeling really daring)
Mozzerella Cheese
Sub Rolls

-Slice your vegetables.
-Place sausages, and half the vegetables in a frying pan on medium heat.
-Add salt and pepper to taste.
-Sear the sausages on each side. You want to get some brown bits on the bottom of the pan (from the sausage, AND the veggies), without burning them.
-Add 1-1 1/2 cups of water to deglaze pan. Cover the sausages and turn heat down to 3-4. Simmer for about 20 minutes or so.
-Meanwhile, Toast your rolls
-Once sausages have simmered in water for approximately 20 minutes, remove lid, and increase heat so that the water evaporates.
-Add in the rest of your vegetables, and heat until hot, but still crisp.
-Heat your spaghetti sauce in a saucepan on the stove (or in the microwave)
-Once the sausages, and sauce are finished, make your sandwich! Place the sausage on the roll, add some cheese, then some sauce, then more cheese, and your veggies. If, like me, you're picky, and like the flavor of the veggies, but not biting into one, leave them out. You'll still have all the flavor of them cooked into the meat!
-If your cheese isn't melting, you can place these under the broiler, for a couple of minutes, too.