I was watching The Biggest Loser last night and was intrigued by some of the healthy recipes they cooked for this Thanksgiving episode.
I immediately went to their website to check out some of the recipes. Here’s one that looks GREAT and will save you mucho calories this Thanksgiving. The recipe creator, Chef Devin Alexander calls this one… Good-Enough-For-Thanksgiving Sausage-Cranberry Stuffing.
Ingredients
- Butter-flavored cooking spray
- 12 slices whole wheat bread (about 70 calories per slice)
- Olive oil spray
- 1 recipe “Sweet and Slim Italian Sausage,” (see The Most Decadent Diet Ever!), uncooked and unshaped
- 1 1/2 cups finely chopped sweet onion
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups fat-free lower-sodium or reduced-sodium (not low-sodium) chicken broth, to taste
- 2 tablespoons light butter, melted
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Lightly mist a 2 1/2-3 quart oven-proof ceramic or glass casserole dish with spray.
- Place the bread slices side by side in a single layer (they should not overlap) on a large nonstick baking sheet.
- Toast them for about 14-16 minutes per side until the slices are dry (not at all soft in center), but not more than very lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, place a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, lightly mist it with spray and add the sausage mixture.
- Cook it, breaking it into bite-sized chunks, as you do, until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes.
- Transfer the sausage to a large mixing bowl.
- Turn the heat to medium, re-spray the pan, and add the onions.
- Cook them for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and celery. Continue cooking them until the celery is a bright green and starts to soften slightly, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the mixture to the sausage.
- Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- When the bread is cooled enough to touch, cut each slice into 9 squares.
- Add the bread, cranberries, and sage to the sausage and veggie mixture.
- Stir the mixture until well combined.
- Drizzle 1 cup of the broth slowly over the top and stir it in until the liquid is absorbed.
- Slowly drizzle the butter over the top and stir that in.
- Transfer the stuffing to the prepared casserole dish.
- Drizzle the remaining ¼ cup of broth for a dryer stuffing or ½ cup for a moister stuffing over the top.
- Cover the dish and bake the stuffing for 30 minutes.
- Remove the cover and bake it an additional 10-15 minutes until the bread is golden brown and the stuffing is hot through.
- Remove it from the oven and let it stand 10 minutes.
- Then serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
- Serving Size: about 2/3 heaping cup (1/10th of recipe)
- Calories: 204
- Protein: 16g
- Carbs: 28g (8 of which are fiber)
- Fat: 4g
Courtesy of Devin Alexander’s “The Most Decadent Diet Ever!” © 2008 by Devin Alexander (Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc.)
For a printable version of the recipe click the following link: Healthy Cranberry Stuffing
