Some of my family’s favorite meals are those that are made with the simplest of ingredients.  Nothing fancy, nothing trendy, just a simple meal with good flavors.

The other night I wasn’t in the mood to put a lot of thought into what I was going to make, and I wanted something that would be quick and easy but still make myself and my boys happy.  As I looked in the refrigerator I came across one of my favorite kinds of sausages I’ve tried in recent years: Gold’n Plump Parmesan Italian Chicken Sausage.  At only 180 calories per link, these quickly became a staple in our house after the first time we tasted them.

Seeing that I had these on hand, my cravings for Italian started kicking in.  I wanted to keep the meal low-calorie, but again, didn’t want it to taste low-calorie.  After a meal the night before without meat, I was getting more and more excited about the possibilities.  The result was Parmesan Italian Chicken Sausage Melts, and they were sensational!

I added a side salad made of 2 cups of spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and a tablespoon of Fat Free Poppyseed Dressing making the salad be approximately 95 extra calories.

Here’s what you’ll need on your grocery list:

**This recipe makes enough to serve 4 people and contains 295 calories per serving.  I only cooked for the three of us that night so all my pictures only have three servings, but the recipe is made for 4**

4 Gold’n Parmesan Italian Chicken Sausage Links

4 slices Light Italian Bread (Both Hy-Vee and Village Hearth make these and each slice only has 40 calories!)

No Calorie Spray Butter

Garlic Salt

1 cup Marinara Sauce

1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Oregano

Spray a broiler pan with cooking spray.  Cut each sausage link lengthwise and pull apart so the links lay flat like a patty.  I made all 5 in the package and then froze the remaining 2 to warm up and eat on another night.  Makes a quick and easy meal.

Broil on High for 6-8 minutes until sausages are cooked all the way through.  Set aside while bread bakes.  If you have a double oven you are lucky enough to do these two steps at the same time!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

I used a stone but you can also use a regular baking sheet.  If you are using a baking sheet spray it with cooking spray.

Place each piece of bread on the stone/baking sheet and spray with 8 squirts of butter.  Season each piece with garlic salt to taste.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Place one sausage across each piece of bread.  Pour 1/4 cup marinara sauce over each sausage, being careful so all the sauce remains on the sausage and bread and does not spill off the side onto the stone/pan.  Sprinkle the 1/2 cup cheese evenly over all four pieces of bread.  Season with oregano to taste.

Bake for another 10 minutes.  Broil on high for a minute or two to brown the top a little extra before pulling them out.

Remove and serve!  We LOVED these!  Like I said, they may not be anything fancy, but they were probably one of my favorite quick and easy dishes I’ve ever made.  The side salad was a nice addition to the meal and complimented the main dish well.

Enjoy!