Raising a Family on a Budget

Home Economics for Real Life

Recipe: Cheesy Sausage Muffins

Cheesy Sausage Muffins

Last winter, I received the $5 Dinner Mom’s Breakfast & Lunch Cookbook, and this was one of the first recipes I tried out in writing my review of the book.  This has quickly become one of my favorite cookbooks, and my favorite freezer friendly breakfast.

As we prepare to receive our side of beef in the next few weeks, I am busily using up items in the freezer.  Today I decided to use up the sausage and cheddar cheese that have been in there.  This recipe scales beautifully.  I made a triple batch of these with the intention of freezing them for breakfasts for the next 2 weeks.

Cheesy Sausage Muffins
Yields 12
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Ingredients
  1. 1/2 lb bulk pork breakfast sausage
  2. 2 cups of AP flour
  3. 2 tsp baking powder
  4. 1 tsp salt
  5. 2 eggs
  6. 1/4 cup oil
  7. 1 cup milk
  8. 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
  3. In a large skillet, brown the sausage, crumbling as you cook it.  Drain and set aside to cool.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  Make a well in the middle, and pour in the eggs, oil and milk.  Mix until a batter just forms.  Fold in the sausage crumbles and shredded cheese.
  5. Fill the prepared muffin wells to the top with batter.  Bake in the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes, or until they begin to turn golden on top.
  6. Serve warm with fresh fruit for breakfast or with soup for a light lunch or dinner.
Notes
  1. To freeze the muffins, make sure they cool completely, then place in a freezer bag. Place in the freezer. When you are ready to have the muffins, allow to defrost on the counter, and then warm them up in either the oven or microwave.
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Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Homemade sausageIn preparing to write a review for The $5 Dinner Mom Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook, I went grocery shopping for a few key essentials.  I had left my purse at home, and only had $40 cash in my pocket, so spending $4+ for a 1 pound package of bulk breakfast sausage was out of the question.  I quickly looked up a recipe from my phone on how to make homemade sausage and opted on buying 2lbs of pork at $1.99/lb and a packet of marjoram for 99 cents to make my own instead!

:: Homemade Breakfast Sausage

2 teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pinch ground cloves
2 pounds pork – I used very lean boneless loin chops

Cut the pork into small pieces, about the size of dice.  Place in a large zip top bag, and add all of the herbs, spices, and sugar.  Massage the meat in the bag so that all of the spices are mixed in and covering the bits of pork.  Stash in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Assemble your meat grinder using the coarse grind plate.  Put all of the pork in the hopper on top of the grinder.  Slowly push the meat through the shoot, and catch the already ground pork in a bowl.  Do this at least twice to break down the meat.

Then form into patties and fry in a little oil  (it is very lean meat) until browned and cooked through, or cook as crumbles for use in recipes.  Two pounds of cooked sausage crumbles is approximately 5 cups of crumbles.

If you do not have a meat grinder, purchase 2lbs of ground pork, mix the spices into it, and allow to chill for at least 2 hours.  Proceed as outlined in the recipe.

This makes a very mild flavored breakfast sausage, but it is absolutely delicious, and I will make it again.