Skinnied Bacon-Wrapped Sausage Patty

I saw this recipe in my Favorite Brand Name Grilling and More Cookbook, but new that there was no way I wanted to know the nutritional information, so I did my best to skinny it down, and I did. I skinnied it down to some thing delicious and guilty-free! Enjoy!

Ingredients

1lb of ground turkey sausage (I prefer Jennie-O)
3/4 cup rolled oats
salt to taste
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves, crushed
1/3 cup sweetened applesauce (I might try cinnamon next time for fun!)
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tbsp chopped fresh green onion
4 slices low-sodium turkey bacon (I prefer Oscar Myers. It is a new staple in our home. So good!)

Directions

-Preheat grill to about 350 degrees; oil grates with olive oil before adding meat
-In a large bowl, combine oats, salt, sage, pepper, and thyme.
-Stir in applesauce, egg, and green onion. Mix all well.
-Stir in turkey sausage until well blended.
-Form into four patties.
-Wrap each patty with a strip of bacon. Secure with toothpicks, but don't forget they are there!
-Grill each patty for about 5 minutes each side, or until fully cooked through.

Nutritional Information
This makes four servings. Each serving has about 250 calories, 11 g of fat, 1.4 g fiber, and 23 g of protein

Stuffed Peppers in the Slow Cooker

This recipe is a favorite in our house! It takes a little bit of prep time, but it is worth it!

Ingredients

12 oz ground turkey burger (browned/cooked)
4 large green bell peppers
10 oz frozen niblet corn
8 oz can of tomato sauce
3 (or more) cloves of fresh garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion (I prefer sweet)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp (or more) ketchup

Directions

-Chop off the tops of the peppers and clean them out of seeds
-Combine all ingredients in a large bowl except for the peppers and the ketchup. If you like bell peppers, feel free to chop the tops and add them to the bowl.
-Stuff the peppers with the mixture until they are VERY full
-Pour 2-3 tbsp of water into the stone wear of the slow cooker (depending on its size)
-Drizzle ketchup over the tops of the peppers
-Cook on low 7-9 hours or high 3-5 hours

Nutritional Information
I like serving my pepper with a half of a cup of rice. The rice is not included in the calculations. Each pepper has about 254 calories, 8 g fat, 8.9 g fiber, and 19.7 g protein.

Sarah Chicken

This recipe has a fun story behind it. I'm not exactly sure where the inspiration for it came from; my guess is I found something on WeightWatchers.com and made some changes. Nonetheless, this past August, a good friend of ours (Sarah) stayed with us for about three weeks. During that time, I tried this recipe for the first time. Sarah liked it so much that we started referring to the dish as "Sarah Chicken." It's both sweet and savory, easy, and delicious. I like to serve 3-4 ounces of it with about a cup of egg noodles seasoned with a little salt, butter, and garlic power.

Ingredients

1 lb to 1 1/2 lbs of chicken breast
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vinegar (I prefer apple cider)
1/4 cup diet lemon-lime soda (Diet 7up for example)
3 tbsp minced fresh garlic
2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp black pepper
sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)

Directions

- Spray or line your slower cooker (I'm a fan of the Crock Pot Liners)
- Place chicken in the slow cooker
- In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients (but the chicken)
- Our mixture over the chicken in the slow cooker
- Cook on low 6-8 hours

Nutritional Information
About 4 oz of the chicken has 305 calories, 2 g fat, .6 g fiber, and 40.7 g protein.

Barbecued Sweet Potatoes

This recipe was adapted from Weight Watchers cookbook Best of Weight Watchers Magazine

This recipe was pleasantly surprising. I LOVE sweet potatoes, but I usually have them more sweet than savory. This was an amazing combination of both. I can't wait to make them again!

INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp red-wine vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 pound sweet potatoes cut into thin wedges

DIRECTIONS

-Get a large rectangle of aluminum foil. Pinch the edges and create a rim around the sides to you have a small pan.
-Prepare the grill.
-Combine the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard, and pepper in large bowl. Mix well. Add the potato wedges to the bowl and toss them in the mixture until they are well covered.
-Add the potato wedges to your aluminum pan and place them on the grill.
-Stir up the wedges every 5-7 minutes to make sure they don't stick.
-Cook for 30-40 minutes, depending on the thickness of your wedges.
-Once they are to your desired crispness, serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
This recipe makes about 4 1/2 cup servings. Each serving has about 104 calories, 0 g fat, 3 g fiber, and 2 g protein.
-