Smoked Sausage and Pepper Skillet

With the heat of summer upon us, I dread turning the oven on in the afternoon to prepare something for dinner. My kitchen is extremely warm, since we have a skylight right in the middle of it. We get direct sunlight for several hours in the afternoon during the summer. So I'm always looking for stove-top meals that don't heat up the kitchen as much as baked meals do.

This quick and easy skillet dish fits the bill. I like to chop up the meat and veggies in the morning before things get hectic. Then all I have to do is heat the skillet and we're on our way to a simple, yummy meal. Alternately, you can grill this as kebabs or in a grill basket. It's delicious either way.

Here's what you need:

1 lb, smoked sausage or kielbasa, cut into 1-inch slices (I usually halve the slices since I have kids who need to take smaller bites)
2 bell peppers, any color, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP olive oil
1 teas Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Place the cut-up meat and veggies into a Ziploc bag. Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the bag contents. Refrigerate for up to 8 hours. You can skip the refrigeration step if you're in a hurry. Just add the vinegar, oil and seasonings to the pan when you cook the rest of it.

Heat a little olive oil in a pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, dump in the meat, veggies and seasonings.

Cook until the peppers and onions are tender, stirring once in a while. You want a nice brown color to the meat and veggies so don't stir too often. It will take about 10 minutes.

 The balsamic vinegar gives this dish a nice tang without overpowering it. I usually serve it with potatoes or over rice.