Italian Sausage Florentine for the Crock Pot

3KillerBs's Note:

A hearty dish for a busy day. Also good as party or potluck food. The flavors of Italian sausage, spaghetti sauce, onions, and spinach meld perfectly in the crock pot. Despite all the healthy veggies its a real guy pleaser! ;)

• Total Time: 6 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 6 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 8 -10 sweet Italian sausage
• 2 onions
• 2 green peppers (optional) or 2 red peppers (optional)
• 2 lbs frozen spinach
• 1 quart spaghetti sauce (I prefer Classico)
• grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Brown sausages in skillet or on grill.
2. Peel and slice onions. Put in bottom of 6qt crock pot.
3. If using peppers, seed and slice vertically. Layer on top of the onions.
4. Pour frozen spinach into crock pot.
5. Arrange sausages on top of the spinach.
6. Pour spaghetti sauce evenly over top of everything.
7. Cook on high for 2 hours then on low for 3-4 hours. OR, thaw the spinach first and cook on low for 6+ hours.
8. Serve over pasta, over rice, or with a hearty, crusty, bread. Pass grated Parmesan at the table.
9. Note -- If preparing for a party or a potluck you may wish to slice the sausage and make 2 layers of ingredients to better control the portions. This version could have shredded mozzarella incorporated into the layers and on top.

Reviews

[RedVinoGirl]

OUTSTANDING! This is a 10 star recipe as crockpot recipes go. I used hot chicken italian sausage and only used 1 green pepper. I thawed the spinach first and used one 24 ounce jar of Classico (not the full quart). Followed the rest of the recipe as stated and cooked on high for 2.5 hours (my pot cooks VERY hot!) and it was PERFECT! I served this over whole wheat penne and my kids are already asking for tomorrow's leftovers (they're 3 and 5). Couldn't have been more pleased with how this turned out and loved the thickness and flavor the spinach added to the recipe. Great dish 3killerb's!

[Darkhunter]

MMMMM-mmmmmm! This was just great! Only change I made was to use fresh spinach, which worked out very well. Will fix this again.

[dawnie808]

We loved this recipe! I browned some ground beef later in the week and used the sauce to make bolognese. I am always looking for interesting crock pot recipes, and this one is a keeper!
Thanks, a great way to sneak in some spinach too :)