An old college standby

Smoked sausage (Hillshire Farms is gluten-free) with rice. That's what my old college roommate and I used to make for dinner sometime. I love love love smoked sausage and you wanna know the best part? We used one half of the sausage for this meal and then put the other half in the freezer for later. I love when you can get two meals out of one food item. What did we make with the other half of the sausage?

Does anyone remember the Right Price Right Portion menu at TGIFriday's? I think they still have it but I'm not sure if they still have the Roasted Red Pepper Sausage and Chicken Penne. If they do, you have to go try it! If they don't, well, you can try making your own version at home. That's what we did (minus the chicken). One half of a smoked sausage cut up and cooked in a skillet. Half a jar of marinara sauce with some red pepper flakes and onion powder sprinkled in. And rice penne (or in our case, rice rigatoni because we had no rice penne.) Stir it all together in a pot. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top.

I think I underestimated the power of red pepper flakes. Having never cooked with them before and not having a real recipe in front of me with measurement, I didn't know how much to use. And I think I used too much. The end result was good, but I'd do just a pinch of red pepper flakes if you're going to use them. Seriously. A pinch.

What are your favorite meals to make with sausage? Got any good two-for-one meal ideas you'd like to share?