Four-Ingredient Italian Sausage Sandwiches

Hello again, Average Chefs! I appreciate your patience with my absence from the blog while I work on navigating a trying season of life.

If you did not see my Instagram story a few months ago, I announced that my husband and I are expecting our first baby this July! Though exciting for us, the first few months of this pregnancy were quite difficult; I was nauseous all day and all night with no relief until about halfway through… and then the migraines began. Then, when I reached about 26 weeks, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GD), which has and will continue to greatly affect what I can and cannot eat for the remainder of this pregnancy. The cherry on top of the past few months was keeping up with the most difficult, demanding grad class that I’ve taken for my master’s degree so far.

With all of this being said, writing blog posts became my last priority as I tried to muster up enough energy to continue working full time, being a grad student, and growing a human. A few of you have reached out to me over the past couple months with encouragement, and I cannot thank you enough! This blog has been continually on my mind since I stepped away, and I am thrilled to be feeling well enough to get back into it. Though my diet is quite restricted these days with GD (low carbs and virtually no sugar), I will do my best to provide a variety of recipes for all of you to enjoy! As for becoming a mom in a couple short months, I plan to post recipes–usually on Sundays–up until the baby’s arrival.

If the chaos of spring has hit you as hard as it has hit us, then this week’s super-simple sandwich recipe is just what you need! I need to give a special shoutout to Michelle Aberson for sharing this classic recipe with me years ago when spending summer weekends at Lake Shetek. Oh, the memories!

Welcome back, Average Chefs!

Four-Ingredient Italian Sausage Sandwiches

Serves 4-6

Estimated time, start to serve: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground Italian sausage (pick your spice preference)

• 1 jar of marinara sauce (or any jar of red sauce, for that matter)

• Optional: extra seasonings

• 6 slices of provolone or mozzarella cheese, torn in half; shredded works fine in a pinch

• 6 brat or hoagie buns

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Brown the Italian sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat until there is no more pink left. Be intentional about leaving the meat in medium-sized chunks; do not break it up as finely as if you were making taco meat. Drain any extra fat. Return the meat to the pan and turn the heat down to medium-low.

3. Pour the jar of marinara sauce over the meat and let it simmer for a few minutes. Feel free to add extra spices at this point. I added in a few shakes of Chef Paul’s Hot & Sweet Pizza and Pasta Magic seasoning because, well, it’s amazing.

4. Slice the buns and place on a baking sheet. Once the meat and sauce are nice and hot, place a scoop or two of the mixture onto each bun. Place the two half-slices of cheese on top so that most of the meat is covered with cheese.

5. Bake the buns open-faced for 6-10 minutes or until the edges are starting to crisp and turn brown and the cheese is completely melted.

6. Fold the buns back together and serve! We enjoyed our sandwiches with chips and fresh strawberries.

Proud of your work? Take a photo of your “Average” creation and tag @the.brass.spoon on Instagram to show off your skills! If you allow me to follow you, I’ll post your story to my story!

If you’re new, remember to subscribe to future recipes by entering your email address below. Share the link to this recipe with friends and family who could use a few meal ideas! Please reach out to me with questions or special requests for future weeks via the Contact Me page or my Instagram DM’s.