Sweet and Spicy Kielbasa

I got this recipe from a friend in my daughter's class, the original recipe calls for 1 cup of brown sugar but it was just way too sweet for my family with that much sugar, I cut the sugar by 2/3 and we LOVE this meal!!!

 Ingredients:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup spicy mustard
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 large onion, chopped
2 lbs smoked turkey kielbasa sausage (of course I use the low fat kind :)

Assembly:
Cut sausages into 2-inch lengths.  Combine brown sugar, mustards, stock, and onion in a crock-pot and stir well.  Add the cut sausages and stir to coat with the sauce.  Cover the crock-pot and cook on low-heat for 1.5 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally to re-coat the sausage with the sauce. 

This is such an easy meal, I usually serve it with cooked Kale and brown rice, we mix it all together and it is so yummy! You do not have to add the chicken stock, I do it to thin out the sauce a bit and to reduce the sweetness however the original recipe does not call for it at all.

For my Weight Watcher friends: The point count on this one differs because I often change the type of sausage I use. I am making this tonight with a low fat chicken sausage and it is 2 points per 2 ounces of meat so I usually eat about 4-5 ounces of the sausage which is about 4-5 points, the entire amount of sauce is 8 points I count do count the sauce as 2 points. I put a 1/2 cup of rice on my plate, add tons of kale (0 points) then add my sausage and spoon the sauce on top.  And my dinner is a total of 10 points, it is very filling and satisfying, the mix of sweet and savory here is perfect!

Balsamic Chicken Cutlets over Fresh Spinach Salad with a Balsamic Shallot Dressing

This was taken from a Rachel Ray recipe but modified to my liking :)

Ingredients:
1 package of thin sliced chicken
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
2T fresh garlic
Kosher Salt & Pepper

Mix vinegar, garlic, salt & Pepper pour over raw chicken. You can marinate for as little as 10 mins or as long as you want. I just marinate while I assemble my salad.

Salad:
1 package of fresh spinach leaves
3-4 slices of center cut bacon
4-6 fresh mushrooms
1/4 of a red onion thinly sliced
1/2 cup of grape tomatoes halved
1/2 cup of sliced cucumber
2-3 hard boiled eggs (I only use the whites) sliced

Assemble your salad with everything but the bacon & egg.

I cooked my bacon in a nonstick skillet, set it aside on a paper towel ( I press mine out pretty good with paper towel to remove the grease) Then pour the grease out but do not wipe the pan, the little bit of bacon grease left in the pan adds wonderful flavor to the chicken. After pouring the grease I add my chicken and discard the marinade. Cook 3-4 mins per side or until cooked through. Set chicken aside and cover.

Balsamic Shallot Vinaigrette
1 large shallot minced
3 t Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
2 t olive oil
1 t honey

Whisk mustard and balsamic & honey, until they are mixed thoroughly, add the oil and shallots and mix together.

I put the salad in the bowls, add thinly sliced the chicken  crumble the bacon and put some egg slices on the sides and drizzle the dressing on top of the salad. The dressing is really tangy so if you want to reduce that you can add a little water to the dressing, just whisk it well when you add the water.

This salad is great an versatile add whatever veggies you love or that you have on hand, peppers or anything that you love.

Weight Watcher friends: I only use about 1t of bacon and I don't really like hard boiled eggs so I don't use them. My kids and husband love them so I add them for theirs. I fill my bowl up with the veggies then add a serving of chicken which I count as 4 points. I count the bacon as 1 and the d ressing as 1. Everything else is 0 points. It is a great salad for 6 points!

Source: Food Network

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