Spicy Bowties and Sausage

It was a busy day today, so for dinner, I wanted something quick that I had all the ingredients for.   Didn't do too bad!  The sauce wasn't too heavy and it had just enough spice.
Think this is going to be a short entry because I'm just too pooped to pop.

Spicy Bowties with Sausage

1 pound. Italian sausage
1 small onion,  chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
16 oz. Bowtie pasta, cooked and drained
2 cans (14.5 oz each) stewed tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 C. Heavy cream
1 T red pepper flakes

In a large skillet, cook sausage, onion, and garlic until sausage is no longer pink.  Drain
Add pepper flakes, tomatoes, and cream.  Heat. to boiling, reduce to medium and simmer until thickened. Pour over pasta and toss to coat.

Crispy Baked Chicken

That'll teach me.  Planning dinner without checking the forecast. Baking chicken when it's 90 and humid is not a good idea!  Still...dinner was pretty good!
Nothing fancy, but there's nothing left, so I guess it hit the spot.  I made green beans and fried potatoes with it.

Baked Crispy Chicken

4 chicken legs
4 chicken thighs
1 C. Bread crumbs
1 T. Oregano
1 T. Basil
1 t. Garlic
1 T. Onion powder
1T. Paprika
1/4 C. Parmesan cheese
6 pieces skinless chicken

Heat oven to 350.
Combine everything except chicken in s large zipper bag an shake to mix. Add chicken a piece at a time and shake to coat.
Arrange chicken on a baking sheet.
For bone-in bake 45-55 minutes, for boneless, 30-40 minutes.

Dinner for 4, less than $10

I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for ways to feed us without breaking the bank, especially since our oldest came home.  Who'd have thought one more mouth would raise the food bill so much!
So tonight I really didn't feel like cooking, but we'd already had pizza this week, so...*sigh* guess I was cooking. It's been hot today and my husband works in the heat, which is draining, so I knew he wasn't going to want to stop by the store, and I certainly didn't want to, so that left what I had on hand.
OK, I can do this. Here's what I came up with. There are a lot of similar recipes out there, but, here it is.  After eating it, I think it would be good with rice, too, as long as you used cooked rice. Using uncooked would take too long, and I know I never have any luck with that...there's always so much that doesn't cook either at all or not completely, and if ruins dinner.

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

1 large or 2 small chicken breast halves (or thighs), cooked and shredded
1 box stuffing mix
1 stick butter, melted
1 can cream soup (whatever flavor you like)
1 C. Water
Salt and pepper to taste (and any other seasoning you like)

Heat oven to 350.
Mix butter and stuffing mix and set aside.
Whisk water and soup together and set aside
Spray a 8x8" pan with nonstick spray.
Remove 1/4 C. Stuffing and set aside.
Spread half the stuffing on bottom of pan. Top with half the chicken, then half the soup. Repeat. Sprinkle reserved stuffing on top.
Bake 30 minutes.

If you use rice, I would think about 3 cups would do, and I personally, would season it with salt, pepper, and maybe poultry seasoning, and cook it in. Chicken broth.

Beef Tips

OK, I have pictures this time! Picked up some tri tip steak for cheap.  It was on its sell-by date, so they had it marked down, and I'm all for saving money!  Which is also why, rather than using it as steak, I decided to get 2 meals out of it.  Tonight is beef tips, and the rest can stay in the freezer for a few days when I think I'll make some Oriental beef of some type.  Haven't yet found a recipe I like as much as my old tried and true...and VERY sweet...recipe.  May have to experiment on my own.

Anyway!  Usually, when I make a recipe for the first time, I follow the directions pretty closely, but this time, not so much.  Some of the steps seemed silly and after tasting the meat, it was a little bland, so...yeah.


Beef Tips

1 1/2 lbs. cubed beef (the type doesn't matter as they simmer long enough to tenderize any cut)
1 T garlic powder
1 T. onion powder (I was out so I used dried minced)
1/4 C. red wine, divided (optional)
3 C. water
1 T. beef bouillon or 3 cubes
3 T. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 T. cornstarch
3-4 T. water
Hot buttery egg noodles

Season meat with garlic and onion powders.  Brown in a large skillet with 1/8 C. wine until cooked through.

Add water, bouillon, onions, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.  Simmer over medium heat 45-60 minutes, or until meat is very tender.
Combine water and cornstarch and stir until cornstarch is dissolved.  Add slowly to skillet while stirring.  Bring skillet to a boil, boil about a minute then turn heat off and allow to cool slightly so it thickens.
Serve over egg noodles.