Recipes from the past couple of days

Red Beans and Rice with Sausage

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 pound fully cooked smoked sausage, cut bite size pieces
1/2 large onion
1/2 c red bell pepper
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cans of red kidney beans
1 c low salt, 99% fat free chicken broth
1 tsp creole seasoning


Directions:
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage, onion, pepper, and garlic and saute until onion is brown; about 15 minutes. Mix in kidney beans with their juices, broth and Creole seasoning. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until flavors are blended and mixture is very thick, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

Spoon mixture over cooked rice or for a lower carb option, eat as is.

Makes 8 servings of 3/4 cup each.

Nutritional Info:
Calories: 295.2  (plus about 140 calories for the brown rice)Calories: 213.4
Fat: 5.1 g

Fat: 18.8 g
Carbs: 21.6 g
Protein: 13.5 g

I made some changes to this because we were missing a couple of ingredients and needed to use some other things up.  I used a chicken sausage from Target (can't remember the flavor), one can of black beans (rinsed) and one can of kidney beans, sugar snap peas instead of the peppers and Italian seasoning instead of the creole seasoning.  It was fantastic!  Probably one of the best things I've ever made/had.  It tasted just as wonderful as seconds too.


Garlic and Herb Pasta with Bacon and Asparagus

Ingredients:

3 slices bacon, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, minced
8 asparagus spears, cut into 1 inch pieces
6 oz. dried wheat pasta of your choice (I used Penne Rigate)
3 wedges Laughing Cow Light Garlic Herb cheese
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Directions:
Start a pot of water for your pasta.  In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until it crisps up, about 5-7 minutes.  Transfer to paper towel lined plate and set aside.  Reserve 2 tsp of pan drippings.  Once your pasta water starts boiling, cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.  Put cut asparagus into a microwave safe bowl with 1-2 teaspoons of water, and microwave for about 2 minutes.  Set aside.  Meanwhile, in the same skillet you cooked the bacon in, add 1 teaspoon olive oil.  Stir in garlic and shallots.  Cook just until softened about 3 minutes.  Stir in asparagus, cook 1 minute.  Stir in cooked pasta. Stir in herb and garlic cheese.  As the cheese melts, stir to lightly coat the pasta.  Stir in bacon.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Top with some shredded parmesan and serve!

Number of Servings: 4

Nutritional Info:

Carbs: 33.7 g
Protein: 8.6 g

Haven't made this yet as it's tonights dinner but I can't wait!  It sounds so yummy.  I will be making on change straight off the bat, I'm not a fan of asparagus so I am going to use green pepper or broccoli instead.