orzo w/ sausage, peppers & tomatoes #gourmetcreations #cbias

So I've been doing this monthly meal plan thing for almost a week now and I love it! It has helped my sanity since I already know what we're having for dinner and I have all the ingredients in the house. Last night I made orzo with sausage, peppers and tomatoes.
I didn't use just any ol' sausage though, I used new Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations Sausage. Can you say "yum"?

I found 4 different flavors at Walmart but went with the Sweet Italian style since I have to have sweet sausage and John is Italian so "that's all we can have in the house" haha. I've made a Google+ story to document my shopping experience so check it out! :)
Other options were Beef & Bacon, Beef & Jalapeno, and Chicken Apple.

Each flavor option is made with premium meats and no artificial flavors, no artifical colors or by-products. I hardely ever buy sausage because I never know what meat is actually in it. I was glad to purchase this sausage because the first ingredient was pork.

Slice (or chunk like I do) red peppers and soften in olive oil for a few minutes then set aside on a pate. In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock, water, and salt to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes is pretty perfect.

While the pasta is cooking: In a large skillet (I used the same one I cooked the peppers in), heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the Gourmet Creations Sausage and saute until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the peppers, tomatoes (drained), and red pepper flakes, if using, and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the liquid, and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the sausage mixture, 1 tablespoon of the parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well to combine all ingredients, adding reserved liquid, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley. Serve.

INGREDIENTS
2 red bell peppers

1 pound orzo pasta

3 cups chicken stock

3 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 package (4 links) Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations Sausage

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #CBias. All opinions about the yummy sausage I tried are my own!

chicken fajitas with hillshire farm #grilledessentials #cbias

Recently I was sent out to make a dinner meal using the new Hillshire Farm Grilled Essentials chicken breast.
It was chicken fajita night and instead of slicing up boneless skinless chicken breast I went shopping for this easy to use chicken. I was pretty nervous especially after I read that to heat this 2-pack of chicken up you pop it into the microwave for just 60 seconds. How good could it taste right?

I found the Grilled Essentials right next to the packaged lunch meat section of my local WalMart. I wasn't sure which flavor sounded better so I grabbed both the Hardwood Smoked and the Italian Style. Other flavor options are Grilled (plain), Lemon Pepper, and Garlic & Herb. All options are just 120 calories per serving and 19 grams of protein!

Tonight I went with the Hardwood Smoked Chicken Breast

Like I said, cooking the chicken was simple. I popped it in the microwave (unopened) for 1 minute and the self ventilating packaging does the magic for you.

Do you see how juicy the chicken is?! It was seriously so moist and so flavorful. I could not believe how tasty it was.
So as you can see I sliced up some red pepper and a yellow onion. I let them sweat in a pan of EVOO and black pepper for a few minutes till the onions were caramelised and peppers were softened.

After slicing up the chicken breast add the onion and red pepper to a tortilla, top with (lots of) cheese and pico de gallo and enjoy!

Using Hillshire Farm Grilled Essentials gave me a quick and delicious meal idea for dinner (and lunch) that I will continue to use!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #CBias. All opinions about the yummy chicken I tried are my own!