Home Made Breakfast Sausage......

I have always wanted to try making my own breakfast sausage. The idea of using meat raised humanely and without hormones and antibiotics while being feed a vegetarian diet really appeals to me. Although the recipe called for two pounds of ground pork I used one pound of ground turkey breast and one pound of ground pork. Why not try to lighten the fat content a little.  The sausages were delicious.  Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com
Ingredients

2 tsp. ground sage
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 pinch ground cloves
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground turkey breast

Directions:
In a small, bowl, combine the sage, salt, ground black pepper, marjoram, brown sugar, crushed red pepper and cloves. Mix well.
Place the pork and turkey in a large bowl and add the mixed spices to it. Mix well with your hands and form into a long roll on top of plastic wrap.
Grabbing the bottom portion of the plastic wrap, pull it up over the meat and begin forming the wrap around the meat, rolling and forming a log shape.

 Next I did the same thing with the plastic roll on top of parchment paper.  I placed the roll in the freezer for an hour which made the sausages easier to slice with a serrated knife.

Saute the patties in a large skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes per side, or until internal pork temperature reaches 160 degrees F (73 degrees C).

Can you see the smoke wafting up from the sizzling skillet?  The misshapen patty is from the end of the roll.  Not perfect looking but still delicious.  That one was for the cook!

Here are the patties sliced and ready to go in the freezer.  Easy, delicious and healthy!

Simple Pleasures.......

Easy pan roasted brussel sprouts with olive oil, balsamic vinegar,salt and pepper.  Simple pleasures, simply delicious.

Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins.......

These delicious muffins are from the cookbook Against the Grain. This is the first time I have baked gluten free from scratch and am thrilled with the results.  I also added 2 heaping tablespoons of coconut flour as well as a handful of walnuts after reading some of the reviews. Yummy!
Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup shredded, unpeeled zucchini

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
Place the wet ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, then beat on medium for 1-2 minutes until frothy and fully combined. Add the zucchini and beat again just enough to incorporate.

Slowly add the dry ingredients with the mixer running, until all of the flour mixture has been incorporated.
Spoon the batter into 2 mini loaf pans. You can also use this batter to make muffins.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the middle is set and a toothpick comes out clean.