Quick, Easy, Lunch/Dinner Ideas

I'm all about no fuss meal ideas.  On this page, I'll share some quick, easy meal ideas for when you just don't feel like cooking, but want to set a mean table anyway.

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pasta Alfredo with smoked sausage, and a Caesar salad on the side.

I started out with this:

 I had stocked up with Barilla pasta when they were on sale a while back; ended up getting a bunch for about 20 cents per box.  Can't pass up a deal like that, right?!  The alfredo sauce comes in a three pack at BJ's, as does the smoked sausage.  For this dish, I used two jars of the sauce, one box of pasta, and one of the smoked sausage links.  The other jar of sauce will sit on the shelf to be used in the future, and the other two smoked sausage links will be used later this week, probably barbecued with some mac 'n cheese or scalloped potatoes on the side.  Stay tuned for that one.  :)  

So, I sliced up one of the smoked sausage links and heated them up in a frying pan, while the sauce simmered and the pasta boiled.  Super easy.  When it was done, I simply mixed all three up and sprinkled some shredded parmesan cheese on top. 

While those things were happening on the stove, I chopped up some romaine lettuce (you could just as easily by a bag already chopped up), and assembled the Caesar salad makings.  The last time I made a Caesar salad, I mixed everything together and it looked quite nice next to the pasta bowl ... but didn't make for good leftovers (which are important in my house!).  So this time, and from now on, the components sit in their own containers for everyone to add to their plate as they like, and there's usually plenty left over for tomorrow's lunch.

This is how it turned out:

 

...and this is how it looked on the plate.











I hope you enjoyed this first meal idea.  If you have any you'd like me to add to the page, let me know.  All ideas are welcomed.