Gobble gobble 'em up

I should totally run Hillshire Farms’ marketing campaign.

Hillshire Farms Turkey Lit’l Smokies

Where purchased: Meijer
Price: $3.89
Overall rating: 4/5

Lit’l smokies have been a potluck staple for years. Who doesn’t love mini sausages covered in a delicious sauce? Or wrapped up in Pillsbury crescent rolls? And in our house, we actually like to brown them up in the skillet and serve them as breakfast sausage.

I should start out by saying that this product isn’t brand new to me – I first noticed these turkey smokies a few months ago, and I have purchased them about 3 or 4 times since. Hillshire Farms did a great job with the turkey variety of this traditional favorite. It has great taste that is very close to the original but is MUCH healthier with only 4 grams of fat and 80 calories per 5 link serving, compared with 14 grams of fat and 160 calories in the original. You will notice that they are a bit drier (no surprise there) and don’t have the same juicy “pop” in your mouth of the traditional ones. But honestly, put these in a crockpot with some sauce and few people will notice the difference.

I give these guys a 4 out of 5 rating for an overall good flavor and excellent job at cutting way down on the fat and calories from the regular version. You might want to wait to pick these up on sale – I have gotten them a couple times at Meijer for $2.00, which definitely makes them seem like a better value.

If you do decide to try these, here’s a tasty crockpot sauce (adapted from Robin Miller’s Sweet-N-Sour Turkey Meatballs) you might want to try. Just mix together and heat!

2 pkgs turkey lit’l smokies
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 c chicken broth
½ c chili sauce
¼ c cider vinegar
¼ c brown sugar
1 tsp dried thyme
Cornstarch/water for thickening (optional)