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!

Cranberry Apple Marsala....

The cranberries are exceptional this year.  There is such a distinct flavor difference between the bagged super market cranberries and the locally grown berries. It's almost as if they had a little bit of a sparkle to them. Anyway, with three pounds to use I went straight to the cranberry experts,  Ocean Spray Cranberry.  This recipe sounded delicious and easy.  I did however make quite a few modifications to the Ocean Spray recipe.  I used floured pork instead of plain chicken, fresh cranberries rather than dried, apple cider because I forgot to buy apple jelly and then took it upon myself to add the mustard and raw sugar.  Everyone loved it.


INGREDIENTS

• 4 boneless, center cut pork chops sliced in half as if your were making cutlets.  So tip to tail.. 
• 1 cup flour 
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup Marsala wine
• 1/3 cup apple cider
• 2 tbsp. Dijon Mustard
• 1 tbsp. raw sugar
• 3 apples, peeled and cut into 1/4 slices (any variety will do)
• 1 cup fresh cranberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Season the flour with salt and pepper.  Dredge the pork cutlets lightly in the flour. Melt the butter along with the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the pork and cook 3 or 4 minutes per side.  Remove to a warm platter in the oven to keep warm.  I put my oven on 190 degrees.
2. Stir in wine, cider, mustard, apples, raw sugar and fresh cranberries.  Bring to a boil all the while scraping any brown bits of the bottom of the pan.  Reduce heat and return pork to the pan for 2 or 3 minutes to finish cooking.  Here is my version.  Enjoy!

 I was so busy taking the photo I forgot to pour the delicious sauce over the top. That's the best part!!