Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Quick and Easy Dinner . . .

Many an afternoon, I suddenly realize I still need to think about what to cook for dinner. And, given the fact that I've forgotten until that point, most of the meat is frozen too solid for any immediate use. I keep a stand by in the freezer - sausage! Not the breakfast type but the meaty, thick ones that you can slice at a diagonal in order to crisp up as much of the surface as you can! Well, I was blessed to still have some of my stand by in the freezer and this is how I turned out a hearty meal in a nick of time!

Sausage of your choice. My favorite brand is Hillshire but most any sausage except breakfast sausage will work just fine. How much you need depends on how many hungry people will soon be gathering around your dinner table.

Cut the sausage in diagonal disks and brown in a bit of oil in a large frying pan. Meanwhile, dice up a large onion, a bell pepper, and eight peeled cloves of garlic and add to the pan. Stir and cook until the vegetables start to soften a bit. Add a teaspoon of chili flakes and a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce. Turn down the heat, cover, and simmer until it is heated through and bubbling. If the sauce is too thick, a bit of water, red wine, or chicken broth can remedy that. You want to be sure to have enough sauce to soak into the rice you are going to serve with this!

This takes less than 30 minutes. Rice is easy enough to prepare and if you have a rice cooker, that is one less thing you have to think about. A green salad is good or a festive fruit salad comprised of your favorites and dressed with just a few squeezes of orange or lime juice. Pretty sure you won't get any complaints!

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