I have a discovery for you, necessity being the mother of invention.
Since my husband was out of town this week, I thought I'd take advantage of the situation and serve the infamous "breakfast for dinner" which my kids like and he doesn't.
The only problem? I didn't have any bacon or breakfast sausage, and I was determined not to go to the store. The solution? What else--the Internet! It took all of one minute to investigate three different recipes and decide which one I had all the ingredients for. (And if you'd like to see the original recipe, which requires two pounds of ground pork, it's right here. Otherwise, for my one-pound version, keep reading.)
Somehow it never occurred to me that you could whip up your own sausage and skip the package of Jimmy Dean, the ingredients of which are as follows:
INGREDIENTS: PORK, WATER, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SODIUM LACTATE, SALT, SUGAR, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, NATURAL FLAVORINGS, BHA, BHT, CITRIC ACID.
Not too shabby, if you pay no attention the items which make up less than 2% of the total.
Homemade, on the other hand, contains one package of Skagit River Ranch ground pork and less than 2% of the following:
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| We are the 2% |
You measure the goodies and mix them with the pork.
Form the mixture into patties of whatever size you like.
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| Note the non-uniform shape that screams "homemade"! |
Fry the patties a few minutes on each side.
And serve them up with your other favorite breakfast items. In our case it was eggs scrambled in butter and pancakes made with whole wheat pastry flour. (We did have some celery and carrot sticks on the side, not in keeping with the breakfast theme but rather with the you-should-always-have-fruits-and-vegetables theme.)
Which leaves just one question to be decided: to ketchup or not to ketchup?
Homemade Breakfast Sausage Patties
(serves 4)
1 lb quality ground pork
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp salt
pinch dried marjoram or oregano
1 tsp brown sugar
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
dash of ground cloves
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Then shape into patties.
Heat skillet over medium. Add patties and cook on one side without disturbing for 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook another few minutes on the other side. Drain on paper towel.
Serve hot or keep warm in a 200F oven while you make the pancakes and eggs!
