If you love the taste of sausage but don’t want all the junky preservatives, make this meal with aidells Italian Style Smoked Chicken Sausage.  It’s all natural, gluten free and has no nitrites and no added hormones.  It comes fully cooked, so you can just heat and serve.  Each sausage has 14 grams of protein, making it a good choice to keep your tummy satisfied.  Pan-fry with some veggies and serve over rice, if desired.  If you’re watching your carbs, keep your rice portion to about ½ cup.

Easy Italian Sausage and Rice

Ingredients:

1 or 2 packages aidells Italian Style Chicken Sausage  (available at Fred Meyer and other stores).  Each package contains 4 sausages, so adjust for your household needs.

3 or 4 bell peppers, chopped

1 onion, chopped

White or brown rice, optional.  Allow extra time if not using quick-cooking rice.

Directions:

If you’re having rice with this dish, start cooking it before preparing the sausage and veggies.

Place sausage in frying pan and add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.  Cook over medium heat about 7-8 minutes to warm through.  As the water evaporates, allow the sausage to start brown in the pan. 

While sausage is cooking, wash and prep veggies.  Add veggies to the sausage and continue cooking, browning the sausage and heating the veggies until they are just crisp.

Eat “as is” or serve over rice (or pasta or other grain). 

Karen Donaldson, MS, RD, LD is a registered dietitian, personal trainer, and an EFT Certified Weight Loss Coach who specializes in helping people with emotional eating issues.   Her office now accepts insurance for nutrition counseling.  She can be reached at EXCEL Weight Loss Solutions at 233-0593.