Two Sausage Appetizers For Sunday!

I love to eat (you know this) and I love menu planning for events. Sunday's big football game is getting me so excited to cheer on my beloved team and also eat my little heart out!

These days, as I'm watching my diet a little more closely, I've been making sure to combine any carbohydrates with ample protein. I had an opportunity to partner with Johnsonville to share a few recipes with you today that I will be making for Sunday, and all of these recipes will fit in with my adjusted diet and still be really delicious for everyone else!

The first one is a recipe that my aunt made for us a few years ago. It's been a staple for get-togethers in our family since! It's part salty, part sweet, and part citrusy-garlicy. YUM. 

Roasted Sweet Potato and Sausage Bites 

with Lemon Garlic Aioli

Ingredients:

Johnsonville Brats

Sweet potatoes

Mayonnaise

Garlic, minced

Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and peel sweet potato and dice into cubes. Toss in a bowl with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper until evenly coated. Place on a foil-covered baking sheet and roast for approximately 15-20 minutes, flipping once or twice to ensure that all sides brown nicely. 

In a skillet, cook the whole brat a few minutes on each side until it's nicely browned. Remove from skillet and slice with a sharp serrated knife. Return to pan and cook thoroughly. Once cooked, drain on paper towels.

For the lemon garlic aioli, you will mix a few tablespoons of mayonnaise with lemon juice, a tablespoon of minced garlic, salt and pepper. There's no "wrong" way to make this, just sample it from time to time until it tastes great. 

Skewer together a roasted sweet potato cube with a slice of the Johnsonville brat and serve with the lemon garlic aioli as a dipping sauce. Easy and unique!

Wait ... something seems to be missing from the photo above. 

THERE. That's much, much better. ;)

But truly, these are such an easy appetizer and great for a pick-up and go snack. 

Next up on our menu is the classic gameday appetizer -- sausage balls!

Sausage Balls

Ingredients:

1 package Johnsonville Ground Sausage

4 cups grated sharp cheddar (two bags)

3 cups Bisquick

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well with fingers until all ingredients are combined. Form into tight 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet coated in nonstick spray. Bake 18-20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. They are also great for breakfast straight out of the fridge ;-)

Thank you so very much to Johnsonville for allowing me to share two of our gameday recipes with you today. You can follow them on Instagram as well for some delicious recipe inspiration (jvillesausage)!

GO PANTHERS!