Sunday morning was Hubster and my wedding anniversary and I wanted to make a special breakfast to celebrate. My parents were still here and with my son running around, I decided to make one special new thing and go simple with the rest.
I love turkey sausage, however half the time I go to buy links they’re in pork casing or it’s the precooked microwaveable type (both a disappointment). About a year ago my dad suggested I make my own, but I didn’t know where to start (with a little google I could’ve figured it out) and soon pushed it to the back of my mind. The first television program I saw when I returned from my holiday was Rachel Ray, she was making maple turkey sausage patties. It looked so good that I decided to make my own variation.
My 1st Attempt at Sausage
Not even a week later, I gave it a go. Her recipe seemed so simple, with only 4 ingredients, but it didn’t seem like my idea of sausage. So instead I used 2 lbs. ground chicken (I went to two supermarkets to find ground turkey and finally settled on the chicken), a dash of poultry seasoning, garlic, minced onions, EVOO, maple syrup and lot’s of fresh sage (that is a crucial ingredient in sausage, I can’t believe Rachel left it out).
Before Baking
I mixed together these ingredients and let them set in the refrigerator for 24 hours. When I was ready to make the sausages I used Rachel’s cooking time & temp. as a guideline. The texture of the meat mixture was a little too soft to form into perfect little sausages, so I used a spoon to drop balls into the frying pan. After I browned one side, I flipped them over and smushed them down a little to brown the other side. After each side was browned I put the sausages on a baking tray and baked them for 9 minutes in a preheated oven at 450°F. It made a little more than 20 small sausage patties. The verdict on the sausage was that it was more sweet than savory, however the sage was just right. Next time I’ll use less maple syrup and make them a little spicier.
Waffles
Sausage alone isn’t breakfast, so I whipped up my waffle recipe (it look me a few years to perfect). My recipe is 2 c. flour, 1 Tbs. white sugar, 1 Tbs. light brown sugar, 1 Tbs. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 3/4 c. milk, 6 Tbs. EVOO, 2 large eggs, and 1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract. I whipped up these ingredients to make the batter and my son was a great help in getting out all the lumps (he had said to Hubster, “Dad, I’m stirring the lumps to get all the flowers out”). Then I poured it onto my waffle maker and whipped out the waffles.
Finishing Touches
I pulled out my Sunday dishes and plated up a waffle, 3 sausage patties, a couple of apple slices (which my son dipped in lemon juice after I cut them, to prevent them from browning) and a spring of mint (fresh from my garden) and served my family breakfast.
Anniversary Breakfast
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