Happy little rice balls

Sundays should be special. One day a week to rest, relax and renew is simply good practice for your overall health and well being. Years ago Sundays meant a special dinner, and it is a nice tradition to keep if nothing else is possible in your life. Many of our old family recipes taste oh so good, but are loaded with items that can cause a problem for weight loss, allergies or so in. Rather than toss them, I say re-invent them to suit your needs. Which is just what I did with one of my husband's family favorites, Arrancini. It is a stuffed rice ball that looks like a mini orange, and is just plain yummy ! My husband's grandmother would make these for every family gathering and everyone looked forward to devouring as many of these as they could. The original was deep fried and then baked, most likely to reheat after transport or storage. My sisters in law and I have taken up the tradition of making these, and lately these recipies have been revamped to be healthy as well as delicious. Here is mine

Arrancini - feeds 3

1 cup of brown rice, cooked to package directions
1/2 cup egg subsitute
1/2 cup parmesagn cheese ( actually we used a sheep cheese, not a cow one)
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 lb chicken sausage, cut into bitesized portions and cooked
1 cup egg subsitute
2 cups bread crumbs( I used some made from rice bread)
In a bowl, mix the cooked rice, 1/2 cup egg subsitute, cheese and parsley. Mixture should be wet and glue-y
Line your items up, with water to moisten hands between balls. Divide the rice into 9 sections. Place one portion in your hand, flatten and place a peice of sausage on it.
Now surround the sausage with the rice and form a ball
Repeat till all the rice is gone. Then roll the balls in egg subsitute and bread grumbs, giving a slight squeeze to make sure they are compact. Place in a greased 9x13 pan. At this point you can store them in the fridge or freezer for future use.
When time comes to serve, place in a 350 oven for 45 minutes. They will come out slightly brown, slightly crispy and very delicious. You can eat them as is, or top with a marinara or pesto sauce. For parties we eat them on their own, but for dinners I top them with tomato sauce and serve them with a veggie- asparagus was the side of choice last night