sausage – The Funky Oven

Sausage and Stuffing balls

Snacks

6 ounces dried stuffing mix

1 cup water

1 medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons butter

3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 pound breakfast sausage

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring the water to a boil. Add the stuffing mix. Cover and remove from heat. Let sit 10 minutes and then fluff using a fork. While waiting, sauté the diced onion in the butter until tender. This should take about 10 minutes. Mix the stuffing with uncooked sausage, cheese, and sautéed onions. Shape approximately 1 tablespoon of mix into a ball. Repeat. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the internal temperature is 160 degrees. The freeze very well once baked and cooled.

Red lentil sausage soup

Soup

This soup is a perfect weeknight meal because it cooks in about 30 minutes. It goes really fast if the vegetables have been cut up ahead of time. It is thick and rich and has a real Italian flavor.
1 pound Italian sausage

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 leek, cleaned and sliced whites only

1 can rotel tomatoes

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 cups water (more if desired thinner soup)

1 large chicken bouillion cube

1 cup dried red lentils

1 tablespoon sweet basil

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1 12 ounce can tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoon mexican oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Add olive oil to a large soup pot. Bring the oil to medium heat. Add the veggies and cook 10 minutes stirring often. Add the sausage. Continue to stir often cooking until browned. Add the water, rotel, tomato sauce and all of the spices. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the lentils and stir. Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Chicken sausage and crab gumbo

Dinner, seafood

Gumbo takes a really really long time to make. It tastes sooo good it is worth it. My favorite part is that it can be made in giant batches. It freezes really well to made several quick dinners by warming it and making fresh rice. It makes a great easy dinner for weeknights, after babies are born, and for winter camping trips.

This batch and the portions I used made 4-5 batches of 2-3 bowls each. That is a LOT of gumbo.

3 green bell peppers, diced

6 celery stalks, diced

1 large onion, diced

7 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup dark roux

2 tablespoons butter

4 bone in chicken thighs, smoked

2 pounds andouille sausage links, smoked

10-16 ounces crab claw meat

5 bay leaves

2 teaspoon thyme

12-14 cups chicken broth

1-2 teaspoons paprika

6 large pods okra

2 tablespoons gumbo file

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

chopped green onions to garnish

My dark roux.

Melt the butter in large soup pot on medium heat. Add the celery, onion, and pepper. Cook until soft about 10-12 minutes.

Once they are soft add the garlic and then stir in the roux. Add the chicken broth. Add the thyme, paprika and bay leaves. Add the chopped up chicken and sausage. Add the okra. I use giant firm pods and put them in whole. Once the okra opens, I remove the pod and leave the seeds.

Cover and cook for 1-2 hours.

Just before serving, add the crab meat and gumbo file. Remove the bay leaves and okra. Add in fresh chopped parsley.

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Serve with white rice, corn bread, and green onions.

To freeze this, I let it cool fully and then place smaller portions into ziploc freezer bags without rice. When warming it, sometimes I add a bit of water. Also, this is when we add shrimp if we are going to. The shrimp does not freeze well.

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Contest winning! Green chili breakfast casserole

Breakfast

It won!!!

This was Christmas brunch this year. It was fabulous.

1 pound breakfast sausage cooked and drained

3/4 loaf of 3 day of french bread cubed small

6 eggs

2 3/4 cups half and half

1 small can of diced green chilis drained

8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese

5 green onion (white and green) diced

4 ounce can mushroom drained

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons worchestershire

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Dash of tabasco… or more 👍

Butter a 9×13 casserole pan. Layer bread, then cheese, then mushrooms, then green onions, and finally sausage. Mix the egg, half and half, spices and green chilis in a bowl. Pour over all ingredients in the casserole dish. Cover. Refrigerate overnight. Bake in a 300 degree oven uncovered for 1 hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Breakfast bake

Breakfast

This is perfect for any leftover bread from the week. French bread, rolls, hamburger buns, sandwhich bread….. my favorite is leftover good quality buns. You can make if the night before if needed. The leftovers save well and reheat well for many breakfasts. Another fun part is that I use a different vegetable in it each week. Usually it depends on what is leftover also. Alternate choices are green onion, yellow onion, green bell pepper, orange bell pepper, roasted poblanos, etc. I keep it simple and try to not buy a million items to make it.

Leftover bread – 2-3 rolls or about 4-6 sliced of bread

1 cup of diced veggies. Today was green onion

1 breakfast sausage roll. I like natural uncured pork sausage or spicy pork sausage

8 eggs

2/3 cup milk

salt and pepper

1/2 cup cheddar cheese (optional)

Cook the sausage in a pan over medium heat. Press on paper towels to remove all grease once well done.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare an 8×8 or 9×9 casserole pan. Cube the bread and add it to the baking dish.

Dice the veggies and add them on top.

Add cooked sausage over the bread mixture. Gently mix all to separate layers.

Now place the eggs into a separate bowl. Whisk in the milk as well as about 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Add cheese (is desired) and bake 1-2 minutes more until melted.

If I make this a day ahead, then I assemble (without cheese), cover, and refrigerate the casserole pan just before the bakng stage. It will need about 15 minutes longer in the oven if baking it cold.

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