Sausage & Bowtie Alfredo

Last night I threw together a recipe that actually turned out pretty yummy.  I'll call it Sausage & Bowtie Alredo.   This is super easy and quick.

Sausage & Bowtie Alfredo

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz cream cheese
1/2 package ranch dressing mix (the dry stuff)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups bowtie pasta
1 lb sausage links (I recommend these ones)
parsley

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

On a grill or in a frying pan, cook sausage also according to package directions.  When done, cut links into bite-size chunks.

Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan, melt butter and add garlic.  Cook until garlic turns golden.  Add cream cheese, sour cream, milk and ranch dressing mix.  Heat over medium-high heat until smooth.  If the sauce is too think, you can thicken it up with a little cornstarch.

Finally, combine your sauce, pasta and sausage all in the sauce pan.  Stir to combine, sprinkle with parsley for garnish and serve immediately.

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The reason I used such random ingredients in this recipe is because this is what I had on hand.  I only had a 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese or I would probably have added a little more.

It didn't matter that this recipe was thrown together.  It was delicious and I'm glad I kept track of what I was putting in there as I will be making it again.

Serve with a salad or sliced grape tomatoes and cottage cheese.

Bacon and Pea Macaroni & Cheese

I found this recipe via Pinterest here and adapted it for my own use.  I'm always a little nervous making Pinterest recipes for the first time because you never quite know how they are going to turn out.

This one was a good one.  The kids like it, the hubby likes it, it is super easy to make and takes almost no time to whip up.  It's a win for everyone.

Bacon and Pea Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients
2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles
1 small bag of frozen peas
4 slices bacon
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp hot sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded
salt and pepper

Directions
Cook bacon until crispy.  Set aside on a paper towel to cool.

Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan, cook pasta according to package directions.  Add the peas during the last minute of cooking.  Drain pasta and peas.  Retain about 1 cup of pasta water for later use.

Return the pasta and peas to the pot and pour in the pasta water you kept.  Add yogurt, hot sauce and about 1/3 of the cheese.  Stir until cheese is melted and add a 1/3 more cheese.  Stir again and add the rest of the cheese.

Crumble bacon and add to pot.  Stir until combine. Add salt and pepper to your taste.

My tips:
Don't be scared away by the hot sauce, you can barely even taste it.

I didn't have any bacon on hand when I made this recipe and took the picture, so I used a bottle of bacon bits. I have also used canned peas before.  not as good, but not horrible either.

This feeds my family of 6.

I am thinking of adding a little spicy mustard next time to see what kind of flavor that will give it.

Quick Beef Stroganoff

Last night I made some yummy Beef Stroganoff.  I loosely followed this recipe from Kraft Foods.  Their recipe is for a crockpot meal and uses stew meat.  I wanted it quick and easy and I wanted to use ground beef.  Basically, I used what I had on hand.

Here's what I did -

Quick Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients

• 1.5 lb.  ground beef
• 10 oz.  canned mushrooms
• 1/2  onion, chopped 
• 1 clove  garlic, minced 
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 2 tsp.  paprika 
• 1 tsp.  salt 
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream (I like things saucy, so the 1 cup they suggested wouldn't cut it!)
• 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard 
• 4 cups egg noodles, uncooked 
• 2 tsp. dried parsley 

Directions:

In large pot, cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, lightly oil, large skillet.  Saute onion, garlic and mushrooms, until tender.  Add ground beef and cook until brown.  Drain grease.  Return meat mixture to medium heat and add beef bouillon (and a 1/2 cup water), paprika, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix sour cream and dijon mustard.

When pasta is al dente, drain and add to skillet with meat mixture.  Mix to combine.  Then add the sour cream mixture and mix more.  Add parsley to top.  Serve in skillet.

Serve with green beans or the vegetable of your choice!  Enjoy!

march 23, 2011 - fajitas & bean and cheese burritos

first i cut up a few sirloin steaks into strips and sauteed them up with some red pepper strips.  then i cooked up a can of refried beans for the kids and chopped some lettuce.  i served it with the regular toppings of shredded cheese, sour cream and salsa.  so good!

march 22, 2011 - tuna helper italian fettuccine alfredo

i know, i know....  boo to overly-processed food.  But it was quick and easy.  plus i threw in some frozen peas to make it a little more nutritional.

march 21, 2011 - spaghetti & meatballs with garlic cheese bread

this was super simple because i still had some armour frozen meatballs.  just threw them into a skillet with some spaghetti sauce and cooked up some noodles.  the bread is the new york texas toast brand and was really quite good.  i probably should have cooked up some vegetables for a side....

march 14, 2011 - waffles and buttermilk syrup with strawberries and whipped cream!

oh yummy!!!  this is what i made tonight for dinner.  stopped at the store on my way home to grab some buttermilk and whipping cream so we could have the real deal.

this past saturday i purchased my very first bountiful basket. in my basket were a pack of delicious strawberries.  the moment i saw them i knew what i was going to do with them.

the recipe for the waffles and syrup can be found here.

march 9, 2011 - tomato soup and grilled cheese

campbell's tomato soup with grilled cheese.  simple and yummy!

february 11-12, 2011 - quesadillas and nuts & berries

on friday, february 11, we all made quesadillas for dinner.  nothing to fancy about tortillas and cheese.

february 12, we were bears.

february 4-5, 2011

february 4, 2011 - i was not well this night, so nathan picked up mcdonalds for dinner.

february 5, 2011 - made frozen chicken nuggets and french fries for the crew.

january 21, 2011 - ramen w/bread & butter

made the 6 kid crew ramen noodle soup with bread and butter tonight. they loved it, of course.

also, i attempted lion house rolls (just google lion house roll recipe). i don't know that i have ever had the real things, so i don't have much to compare them to, but they turned out huge and fluffy. i will definitely be making them again.