Sweetnicks' "Melt-in-Your-Mouth Sausages"

One of the things I'm enjoying about getting back into food blogging is that I can visit old friends. I've been checking out blogs that I used to read nightly, and since it's been a long time, there are a lot of new things to see. One "old friend" is Cate of Sweetnicks. Her recipe for Italian sausage in the crockpot caught my eye and I decided to give it a try. I made only a few minor changes from Cate's original recipe - I halved it, I added a few chopped bell peppers, and I used red wine instead of water. Oh my! Don and I loved it and have declared it a "keeper." It will definitely be made again and again. We followed Cate's suggestion to eat it over pasta, so I cooked up some Dreamfields spaghetti. I cooked 8 ounces of spaghetti, and we now have two bowls of leftovers. There was enough sauce and meat for more pasta, but Don poured out some on his plate and sopped it all up with some bread. Thanks, Cate, for such a wonderful recipe!

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Sausages
from Cate of Sweetnicks


1 lb sweet Italian sausage (about 5 links)
1 6 oz. can tomato sauce
1 24 oz. jar marinara sauce, (I used Newman's Own)
⅓ cup chopped bell pepper
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 cup red wine
Place sausage in skillet. Cover with water. Simmer 10 minutes. Drain. Combine remaining ingredients in slow cooker. Add sausage. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Serve in buns or cut sausage into bite-sized pieces and serve over cooked spaghetti. Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese. Also tastes great in a toasted roll with melted cheese.