Monday: Stuffed Syrupy-Sausage Apples with Simple Greens

 

I LOVE how simple and kid-friendly this Rachel Ray recipe is. Minimal ingredients, my kids devour it, and I'm not spending more than 10 minutes prepping this meal. This has become a popular dish with several of my friends that have kids. Hooray for kid meals!

Stuffed Apples Recipe
4 servings

4 large golden delicious apples, halved crosswise and cored
1 lb chicken or italian sausage, casings removed, chopped
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 TB purse maple syrup
olive oil for drizzling 

1. Preheat oven to 375* Fahrenheit. Add apples, cut side up to a greased 9x13 baking dish.
2. Combine sausage through maple syrup in a medium bowl. Stuff each apple half with sausage mixture, and mound it on top of each apple. Drizzle with extra maple syrup and olive oil. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Simple Greens Recipe   

 4 servings

4 cups mixed greens
2 TB apple cider vinegar
2 tsp honey mustard or Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil 

1. In a salad bowl, combine vinegar and mustard. Whisk in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss greens with the dressing and serve with stuffed apples. Bon Appetit!

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Plan and Prep Ahead

Here are some helpful techniques to make life a little easier once dinner time hits. These tips will especially help those that work full-time and don't have a lot of time to prepare dinner.

~Combine the sausage, parsley and maple syrup in a bowl and keep in fridge until ready to use.
~Halve and core the apples. Store in fridge until ready to use. 
~Mix together salad dressing, and store in fridge until time of use.

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Who likes to CHANGE IT UP? 

~Try sprinkling a little Parmesan cheese over each apple half. 

~Instead of parsley try cilantro.
~Add chopped bell pepper to sausage mix to add a little color. 
~Replace sausage with chorizo for a little spicyness.

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