Italian Sausage with Pepperonata

My husband came home with Italian sausage one night and I had no idea what to do with it.  I came up with this meal based on a dinner my dad described to me once and it is very tasty!

Ingredients:

4 sweet Italian pork sausages, no fennel

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tomato diced

Dash of red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp or to taste of oregano

1 dried bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

Provolone slices or other favorite Italian cheese

Heat oven to 400.  Bake sausages in the oven in a heat proof pan until cooked through, about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat until very hot.  Add in about 1 tbsp of olive oil and then peppers.  Allow peppers to brown on one side for about 2 minutes.  Flip peppers and brown on the next side for 2 minutes.  Stir one more time and cook for 2 more minutes.  Add the garlic and cook stirring for 2 more minutes.  Remove peppers from the pan to a bowl and add onions in to the pan, adding in more oil if necessary. Cook onions for about 3 minutes until starting to brown.  Add the peppers back in and then add in the tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano and salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat if the mixture is beginning to scorch.  Meanwhile, remove sausage form the oven and split lengthwise.  Arrange back in the same pan to create a circle.  Top with pepperonata and the cheese.  Bake for about 15 more minutes until the cheese has begun to brown.  Serve with crusty bread and a simple salad.