Easy summer living…..it’s the only way to go! We’re cooking fresh chicken sausages with peppers and sweet Vidalia onions. My family loves this dinner accompanied by grilled, garlic Ciabatta bread. This is one of my “go to” menus when it’s been a long hot day. Everything goes right on the grill…..it’s oh so easy!
Italian Chicken Sausage
Grilled Peppers & Vidalia Onion
Grilled Garlic Ciabatta Bread
Red Wine Spritzers
Italian Chicken Sausage
Most supermarkets carry Italian chicken sausages. At our local Harris Teeter they have them, freshly made, in the butcher’s case. Simply take them out of their container, score them a couple of times on top, spray your grill with a bit of olive oil and place the sausages on the grill. We like ours to be medium well and that takes around 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove from the grill and cut the sausages in half to serve.
Grilled Peppers & Vidalia Onion
1 large Vidalia onion
1 large green bell pepper
1 large red bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste
I always keep plenty of green and red bell peppers this time of year. We love them raw or grilled. You’ll want to remove the stem, core, seeds and any membrane on the inside before slicing the peppers into thin strips. Peel and half the onion, then slice in “1/2 moon” slices. Chop the garlic and toss it into the pepper and onion mix with seasoning and olive oil. I have a teflon grilling “wok” that I use to cook this. Simply place the wok on your grill top and cook the veggies for 7 – 10 minutes, depending on how done you want them. My crowd prefers the peppers to be slightly crunchy so I go with seven minutes.
Grilled Garlic Ciabatta Bread
Split a loaf of Ciabatta bread in half, lengthwise. Generously brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with finely chopped fresh garlic. Place the bread split side down on the top rack of the grill and cook until golden brown.
Red Wine Spritzers
I like to use a sweeter red wine for spritzers, Barefoot makes one “Sweet Red Wine” that is great mixed with lime seltzer and plenty of lemon and lime slices. This makes a light, refreshing summer drink and the slight sweetness compliments the spiciness of the sausages.
There you have it! An easy summer menu sure to please just about anyone…..and you didn’t have to heat up the kitchen! Summertime life is good!
