Thursday, July 31, 2008

Chicken and Sausage Kebabs

Shrimp and Sausage Kebabs

If my boyfriend loves chorizo. He had never had it until he met me, but now that he's had it, he orders it whenever we go out.

Chorizo, a type of smoked sausage of sorts comes in two forms, Mexican chorizo -- the uncooked variety that comes in long tubes, or Spanish chorizo -- a cooked sausage that usually comes in smaller links.

Unfortunately, near me, the only real place I can find the Spanish variety is at Whole Foods. I've found the Mexican at my normal grocery store and even at the discount food chain Aldi's. I didn't want to stop at Whole Foods, so I decided to try a smoked sausage instead.

And with results that were less than fantastic. First of all, sausage is a fatty choice. So if you're going to indulge in sausage, it should be the most flavorful you can find. That way, you can use less of it and not feel cheated in the slightest. So, chorizo, with it's extra spiciness, definitely would have been better.

That being said, I'm sure this dish is not the healthiest out there -- period. But you don't end up using all of the marinade, so I wouldn't even know how to count it. Maybe see how much marinade you made and measure what's left afterward?

When I made this recipe I made the marinade as directed, but used smaller shrimp and of course swapped smoked sausage (you could use a light or turkey sausage if you prefer). I also left the oil out of the couscous and upped the whole grains by using whole wheat couscous. I might also cut the couscous recipe in half for four people and add a steamed veggie on the side. And if using chorizo.. up the amount of shrimp and cut down the amount of chorizo used to keep the points value/calories in check.

Although the recipe doesn't look that healthy on the surface, with a few minor tweaks, you can make it a little more point-friendly if you want.

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