Have you ever...?

...made your own sausage? Sausage can be a great protein option for your paleo(ish) diet. However, if you check the ingredient list of most store bought brands you will find some very un-paleo things... corn syrup or sugar, preservatives, fillers, gluten. Luckily you can make your own! If you're fortunate enough to have a stand up mixer with a meat grinder and sausage stuffer, you're really in for a good time, but there is plenty you can make with some pre-ground meat and spices.

Last week I experimented with making some breakfast sausage patties, cooking them, then freezing them so I could have them as a quick breakfast throughout the week. It worked out great! The recipe is based on one I found on sausagemania.com. The only difference is that I don't really measure, but that's not so important unless you are baking. I kept the proportions about the same.

Breakfast Sausage Patties (all spices/herbs are dried)

~1 lb ground meat (I used pork, but turkey would work fine here)

1/2 T salt

1/2 t sage

1/3 t savory (the ONLY reason I used this is because it came in a pre-filled spice rack, so I happened to have it on hand. I'm pretty sure you can leave it out if you don't have it)

1/8 t nutmeg

2/3 t marjoram

1/3 t ground black pepper

Just mix everything in a bowl and form into patties. I like to crush the herbs in my hand before throwing in, to get the oils flowing and whatnot. Fresh ground meat makes a HUGE difference here. The first time I made this I think I ground in some extra pork fat which made all the difference. Ground pork and ground turkey tend to be a bit dry since they're so lean.

I browned the patties on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side depending on the size of the patties. Let cool and store two at a time in zip top bags in the freezer. I put a bag in the fridge the night before I want to have them for breakfast and then reheat in a pan or in the microwave.