Featured Recipe: Sausage, Apple, and Sage Stuffing Muffins

Don’t let diabetes keep you from enjoying the holidays! Lakeland Certified Diabetes Educator, Nicole Morrissey, RD, provides a healthy twist to one of her favorite Thanksgiving dishes…stuffing!

Although stuffing is a Thanksgiving staple in most households, many recipes end up being very high in sodium and when not portioned correctly can lead to unwanted calories. Nicole’s sausage, apple, and sage stuffing recipe features a little bit more protein, plenty of vegetables, and added fruit. But the best kept secret to her recipe? She serves it in a muffin tin which allows for each person to easily get a single portion.

“The holidays are just as much about portion as they are the selection of foods," said Nicole. "Don’t deprive yourself of your favorite foods at the holidays. Instead, try to incorporate them in a balanced way – be sure your plate includes plenty of non-starchy vegetables and lean protein. Don’t wait until the day of to think about what’s going on your plate. Healthier holidays start with a plan – make one and try to stick to it!”

Ingredients:

• 3 sweet Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
• ½ onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, finely diced
• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp no-salt all-purpose seasoning
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 5 cups dried, cubed stuffing
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mist a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or line with muffin papers; set aside.
2. In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the turkey sausage until no longer pink, breaking up with a spatula or wooden spoon. Transfer the cooked sausage into a large bowl; return to heat.
3. Add the onion and cook 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the celery and apple and cook until just softened, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the sage, garlic power, all-purpose seasoning, and black pepper; mix well and cook an additional 30-60 seconds or until fragrant.
6. Transfer the onion mixture to the bowl with the sausage. Add the stuffing; do not mix.
7. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs and broth; whisk well and pour over the stuffing in the large bowl. Using a large spoon, mix well, moistening all of the stuffing.
8. Fill each of the 12 muffin wells with the mixture, using your hands to gently press the stuffing into the wells and create slightly mounded tops.
9. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before running a knife around the sides of each muffing well and with a spoon, assisting each stuffing muffing out of the muffin tin. Serve warm.
   Yield: 12 stuffing muffins

Nutrition Information (per muffin): 142 calories; 3.9 g. fat; 46 mg. cholesterol; 375 mg. sodium; 17.1 g. carbohydrate; 1.6 g fiber; 8.4 g. protein; 2.0 g sugar (1 carb choice per stuffing muffin)

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