Spicy Sausage Spirals and That One Time My Hair Cooperated

I enjoy pasta dishes almost as much as I enjoy soups. Especially if they are easy to throw together and easy to make in big batches (hello, leftovers!).

Spicy Sausage Spirals
Ingredients:
1 pound Gimme Lean Ground Sausage Style (found at HyVee on Minnesota Ave.)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp oregano
1tsp basil
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce
1 box of spiral pasta (or other pasta you like)
salt to taste

Directions:
Grab a pot and get some water boiling and cook your pasta according to the directions. Drain and rinse whenever it's done. While that's going on, heat a skillet over medium with olive oil. Open your package of Gimme Lean and pull it into little bite size pieces. It is VERY sticky and if you don't break it apart by hand, you'll have a big headache. Now, wash your hands, you sticky mess! Let the "sausage" brown, stir it around so each side gets a kiss of heat. Now you can add the pepper flakes and other spices. Stir in the tomatoes and sauce, and give it a good stir. Bring it to a simmer. Depending on the size of your pan, you may wish to pour everything into the pot you used for your pasta, but I sometimes just add the pasta into the pan I used to brown the sausage. Use your own discretion. Mix it all together,  turn the heat off, and cover it for a few minutes to let it meld together and get warm. Serve with bread or a salad.

This recipe is quick, easy, and tasty. The nice thing about it is that you can adjust it to your preferences. Don't like heat? Eliminate the red pepper flakes. Can't get enough spice? Add more red pepper flakes or other spices/hot sauces. The next time I make it, I plan to add some bell peppers, minced onion, mushrooms, and whatever other veggies we have that might go well with it. 

I also had to share the one time my hair did what I wanted it to. Usually I end up braiding my hair, throwing it in a pony, or leaving it down. It gets pretty boring, but I don't know how to style my hair very well. My excuse is that it is just too dang straight and smooth! Because of how straight it is, it tends to be flat, which I hate. I tried a new hairstyle a couple months ago and of course every time I try to recreate the "effortless" style, it doesn't cooperate. Here's proof that my hair looked good once:

On that note, if you have any hair tips or tricks, send 'em my way! Or a personal hairstylist that can come do my hair daily at no charge...that would be cool, too.