Quick and Easy: Grilled turkey sausage with tomato-onion-pepper topping

By Linda Gassenheimer
Knight Ridder News Service

Tired of serving hot dogs and hamburgers for picnics and barbecues?

Try grilled turkey sausage dressed up with a tomato, onion and pepper topping. Several types of turkey sausages are available, with various seasonings added. Be sure to heat the grill before adding the sausages. For easy cleanup, spray the grill with a vegetable oil spray first.

Serve with coleslaw.

• Vegetable oil spray
• 4 low-fat turkey sausages
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium sweet or red onion, sliced (1 cup)
• 1 medium green bell pepper, sliced (1 cup)
• 1 medium tomato, diced (1 cup)
• 2 medium garlic cloves, crushed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 hot dog buns

Preheat grill. Spray grill with vegetable oil spray. Grill sausages five minutes, turning to make sure all sides are cooked.

While sausages cook, heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add the onion, green pepper, tomato and garlic. Cover and cook five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Open hot dog buns and toast on grill for 2 minutes.

Serve sausages on buns and spoon vegetables on top. Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 526 calories, 32.6 grams protein, 52.9 grams carbohydrate, 18.3 grams fat, 4.6 grams saturated fat, 31 percent of calories as fat, 1.2 grams fiber, 75 milligrams cholesterol, 1315 milligrams sodium.