Italian Sausage Hero

This is more of a non-recipe, but it was so easy and delicious that I wanted to share it. Plus I learned something while trying to figure out what to call my sandwich. I was pretty impressed to find how serious people take their sandwiches on the east coast. They have so many names- grinder, sub, blimpie, hoagie, zep, po' boy, and the list goes on- while we just call them all "sandwiches" here on the west coast. I finally decided to call my sandwich a "hero" which implies it is served on a roll and has Italian flavors. In case you are wondering, the name has no relation to the Greek gyro.

I took a classic Italian combination of sausage, peppers, and onions, and stuffed it into a toasted roll. Squirt a little bit of spicy mustard on there and that is all you need for this flavorful Italian sausage hero. The sausage is the star of this dish so be sure to buy some nice Italian style ones. Or if you are feeling adventurous, make your own!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion, cut into bite size chunks
• 1 bell pepper, cut into bit size chunks
• 4 Italian sausages
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• dash red pepper flakes
• 4 hero rolls, sliced and toasted
• spicy mustard

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet and cook sausages- you want them to get dark and crispy on the outside so you some medium-high heat. Split the sausages in half lengthwise and put back in the skillet cut side down and get that nice and crispy too. Remove from pan.
2. Reduce heat to medium and place onions and peppers in pan. Sprinkle with salt and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, until softened. 
3. Cut sausage into bite size chunks and toss into onion and pepper mixture. Add red pepper flakes and just cook a minute, enough to reheat the sausage.
4. Pull some of the stuffing from the middle of the toasted rolls so your filling has a nice pocket to go and won't spill out the sides. Stuff your heros and top with mustard if desired.