Sausage, Potato and Spinach Breakfast Bake

1# breakfast sausage

1/2 med. onion - chopped

5 sm. potatoes - chopped

1/2 poblano pepper - chopped

4oz. fresh spinach - sliced

6 eggs

1/3c half and half

American Cheese

Remove the sausage from casings and break them up.  Brown the sausage and add the onions, potatoes, and pepper to the pan.  Stir and sauté about 10 minutes.  Pour this mixture into a buttered 9"x13" glass pan.  Quick steam the spinach until the volume is reduced by about half.  Arrange this over the sausage mixture.  Beat the eggs and half and half together and pour, gently, over everything in the pan.  Top with slices of American Cheese and bake in a 350° oven, for about 30 minutes. . .Lin

Sausage and Kale Breakfast Bake

12oz. breakfast sausage

1/2 lg. red onion

6-8 oz. chopped kale

4 sm. potatoes - sm. cubes

1 lg. roasted red pepper - chopped

5 lg. cloves garlic - minced

3-4T capers

8 eggs

1c cottage cheese

6-8 oz. crumbled-cubed feta cheese

Thaw the sausages so the meat can be squeezed out of the casings.  If' you'd rather have them in chunks, and don't mind the casings, cut each sausage into 4-5 pieces while still frozen.  Sauté sausage with a little of the onion, over medium heat, in a large non-stick pan, until partially cooked.  Mix together the next group of ingredients in the pan, and arrange in a buttered, glass 9" x 13" baking pan.

Using a rotary beater, combine a few of the eggs with the cottage cheese, beating hard to break down the lumps.  Add the rest of the eggs, beat a while longer then pour over the ingredients, and the feta crumble-cubes, in the baking pan.  Bake about 30 minutes at 325° or until a toothpick inserted, comes out clean. . .Lin

Cornbread-Sausage Breakfast Bake

12oz. breakfast link sausages

2 lg. chopped carrots

2 chopped stalks celery

1 very lg. chopped purple shallot

1 whole canned roasted red pepper

6 eggs - beaten in a bowl

3/4c milk

2c cornbread stuffing mix

1/2t sea salt

1/4t ground red cayenne pepper

6oz. grated sharp flavored cheese

~ Cut the sausages into bite-size pieces and fry.  When browned, put into a buttered 9"x13" glass pan.  Put the carrots and celery into the frying pan and cook them a little, for about 10 minutes, stirring to keep them from sticking to the pan.  Scoop these out and add to the sausages in the pan.  Add the shallot and the slice-chopped red pepper.

Combine the beaten eggs and milk.  Stir in the stuffing mix, salt and pepper.  Let this stand a while until it gets a little 'gloppy.'  Pour over everything in the baking pan, top with grated cheese and bake 25-30 minutes between 350°-375°, adjusting heat as needed until it looks like the last picture.  This makes 12 breakfast squares.  It will keep a few days in the 'fridge, and then can be put into a ziplock bag and frozen. . .Lin

Sausage Egg and Cheese Bake - Gluten Free

12oz. breakfast sausages

1 med. onion - chopped

1 yellow pepper - chopped

6 jumbo eggs

2/3c half-and-half

3oz. sun-dried tomato pesto

1/3c corn flour

1/2t seasoned salt

1/2t ground black pepper

1/2t baking powder

1/2t baking soda

8 squares of American cheese

Brown the sausages, then drain on paper towels.  Put the chopped onion and pepper in a buttered 9"x13" glass pan and add the sausage, cut into smaller pieces, when cooled enough to handle.  In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, half-and-half and pesto.  Stir in all the dry ingredients, whisk again, then pour over the sausages and vegetables in the glass pan.

Put a layer of cheese over the top and bake at 350° for 25 minutes.  Turn off the heat and leave in the oven another 5-10 minutes.  This would be great for a special group breakfast or will keep well, covered, in the 'fridge for many days.  You can cut individual squares and heat those in the microwave, or cut and cool the whole pan, then freeze, individually, for busy-workdays or take-along breakfasts, at a later time. . .Lin   

Sausage-Potato-Bean Soup

1# Italian sausage hot or mild

2c chopped celery

1 med. purple onion

2-4c water

3 lg. carrots

1 red pepper

4c chopped baby red potatoes

1 lg. white sweet potato

*1c leftover chicken - optional

2T chicken soup base

2T dry parsley

1T ground rosemary

1T roasted powdered garlic

4-6c water

2# canned beans rinsed and drained

Remove sausage from its casings, stir and brown with part of the onion, finely minced and the celery.  Drain off the fat, then add water and continue to simmer.  Meanwhile, scrub and chop all the vegetables.  No need to peel, since the outer layer that was directly in contact with the soil adds nutrients, fiber and color to the soup.  After about 15 minutes, put everything else into the pot except the beans.  Cover and simmer another 45 minutes or until the vegetables are done the way you like them.  Add the beans and taste to see if any additional seasoning is needed.  Simmer again, just to heat everything through, then serve.  This soup is great after chilling and heating which develop the flavors.  It's a good one to have in the 'fridge for early fall days.  It also freezes well. . .Lin

Broccoli-Sausage Cornbread Bake

12oz. breakfast sausages

1 med. yellow onion

1 box cornbread mix

1/2-1t finely ground black pepper

2 eggs

1/2-1c half and half
1-2T vinegar

1 4oz. jar chopped pimentos + liquid

1# frozen, chopped broccoli

4oz. sliced Velveeta cheese

2-4oz. fresh grated parmesan cheese

Cut each sausage into 6 pieces.  Combine with chopped onion in a non-stick pan, over medium heat until nicely browned.  While this is happening, whisk together the next 6 ingredients in a medium size bowl.  The vinegar and half-and-half make a rich buttermilk that amplifies all the flavors. 

Pour-spread 1/3 of this in the bottom of a buttered 9x13" glass pan.  Cover this with the sausage and onion.  Make the next layer with the chopped broccoli and cheese.  Add more water if needed, to make the cornbread mixture pourable then pour this over everything in the baking dish.  Bake at 375° for 15-25 minutes until the top is lightly brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Since the cornbread mixture is sweet, I drizzled some Spicy Cilantro-Garlic Mayo over this before serving.  Ohhh, it was good! . . . Lin

Quinoa, Red Beans and Sausage

12oz. venison sausage, kielbasa, etc.

1 sm. onion

½c tri-colored quinoa

1 can red kidney beans

In a 2 quart pan combine cut up sausage, chopped onion and a little butter. Saute' and stir for a few minutes then add the quinoa and 1 – 1½c water. Bring to a low simmer, cover and cook for about 45 minutes. Add drained-rinsed beans just before water evaporates. Cover and simmer another 15 minutes until the quinoa has sprouted little tails indicating it's cooked. Makes about 3 servings. . .Lin

Breakfast Ideas

Vegetables For Breakfast

They're not just for dinner anymore. Find creative ways to max out on vegetables all throughout the day. Your body will thank you. :-) . . . Lin

Smoked Sausage and Vegetables

8oz. Hillshire Farm smoked sausage

4 med. carrots – sliced

2T± Balsamic vinegar and oil mix

2 onions – sliced or diced

½ head of savoy cabbage – slice-chop

fresh ground pepper

Slice chunks of sausage then cut into ½” cubes. Saute', covered, with carrots in the vinegar-oil mix for 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on the heat, the vinegar-oil will encourage caramelization, which is good, but bringing out the natural sugars in this way, combined with the fats, can lower the scorching point. Add the onions, about a cup of water, cabbage and pepper. Stir and bring the heat to a simmer. Continue to cook, covered, until the cabbage wilts a little and all the vegetables are cooked the way you like them. . .Lin

Smoked Sausage and Vegetables

Hillshire Farm has just stated they will NOT use gestational crates in raising their pigs. Please buy their products! Please boycott Tyson for their continued use of these horrid devices that don't even let the animals turn around in their crates their entire life. Horrible and inhumane treatment. The best way to protest is not to buy their products and spread the word about the conditions their animals have to live in. And know too that → stressed animals = bad meat.

5-7oz (per person) Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage

   red cabbage, onion, carrots
   enough for your hungry people

baby Yukon Gold or fingerling potatoes if you want them

Start cooking the sausage and carrots in a non-stick pan with a couple tablespoons of extra virgin oil and Balsamic vinegar. This will carmalize quickly so when the sausage starts to brown, turn down the heat and cover for a few minutes. Add remaining vegetables and cook to desired doneness. This is actually a meal in itself or you can add pickles, olives, bread and butter, a green salad or try my Fried Green Tomatoes (below). . .Lin

Another Variation of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

1 lg bunch of Collard Greens

1t sea salt

Cut ribs out of the leaves, chop greens and simmer in salted water 15 minutes.

1 ring Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage

1 lg clove elephant garlic, sliced-chopped

1 lg onion, chopped

6 ribs celery, sliced

1 carrot, finely chopped

In a soup pot, combine all the above.

Stir-saute' on high heat 5 minutes. Add greens and 4-8 cups of the cooking water.

4-5 potatoes, rough-peeled, cubed

2-4T chicken soup base

1c half & half, sour cream - or a mix of both

Put potatoes in the pot with the rest. Check flavor and add the amount of soup base needed. Simmer until potatoes are done the way you want. Add half & half / sour cream at the very end. Heat to serving temperature. Great with crusty bread or rolls. . .Lin