This is a recipe my husband came up with several years ago and we still enjoy it at least weekly. A combination of bacon, potatoes, onions, sweet peppers, jalapenos (if you desire), and ham (opt.), topped with shredded cheese. Yum! Of course, any of these ingredients can be changed or deleted to your liking.
Cut up bacon by slicing across the slices into 1/4" or so pieces. Cook in skillet until just done.
Add remaining ingredients except cheese. Cook, stirring every 5-10 minutes, until done. You may need to add a little butter or oil to the pan, depending on the skillet you are using and the fat content in the bacon. Serve topped with cheese of your choice! Cilantro or green onion makes a nice garnish for this dish. You may also want to add salsa to the top.
Recipe Notes
We always buy jalapenos and sweet peppers by the bushel or half bushel at the farmer's market in the fall, then we dice them and freeze them in quart Ziploc bags, so they are always ready to go whenever we need them!
The potatoes are julienned using a nifty device called Nice Dicer. We have an old style one, that we have been using for years. It works great and saves a LOT of time!
To save some time on a weekday morning, cook up the bacon the night before and save in a covered container with the other veggies, all chopped and ready to throw in the pan the next morning!
Mix first five ingredients and shape into 3/4" thick patties (about 10). Bake meat patties at 375 for 20 minutes. Transfer to baking dish.
In large skillet, saute onion in a little oil. Add mushrooms when onion starts to cook. Stir in flour to thicken. Add water and beef base and stir over medium high heat until thickened. Pour over meat patties and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. (This can also be done on the stove over low heat. Stir frequently.)
Recipe Notes
Although spelt is actually a type of wheat flour, most people with wheat allergies can digest spelt with no problem. Obviously, you should not eat spelt if it is a problem for you.
Be careful of the beef broth if you are avoiding wheat or soy. I use Better than Bouillon Organic beef base and, for this recipe, I use two times the amount suggested on the jar for 3 cups of beef broth.
If you don't need gluten-free or wheat-free, go ahead and use all-purpose flour and regular breadcrumbs.
I used a 3 oz. scoop for the meat mixture and ended up with 11 patties plus about a half sized one.
In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, place all ingredients.
Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dried on the almonds and it has a furry looking appearance.
Pour onto a large sheet pan and let cool.
Grease a lasagna pan.
Saute onion in butter in 4 qt. pan. Add salt and pepper as it is cooking. Add milk and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Combine heavy cream and cornstarch. Add to pan and stir until it is blended. It should begin thickening very quickly. Turn off heat and add sour cream and cheese. Spread potatoes in greased lasagna pan. Pour milk sauce over potatoes.
Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 2 hours or more. Let set for 15 minutes or so and stir before serving.
Recipe Notes
For the chicken broth, I use about 2 tsp. Better than Bouillon Organic Chicken Base and add water to make 1 cup. This ensures that the recipe remains gluten-free and soy-free.
A very easy biscuit recipe baked in Lodge cast iron biscuit pan. The flour mixture can be made up ahead of time, cut the butter in, then refrigerate or freeze until needed. Then just add the buttermilk, drop biscuits into pan with an ice cream scoop and bake.
These are great with sausage gravy: https://www.cherylsrecipes.net/recipe/sausage-gravy/
This recipe works great in a mini muffin maker. This size works better for us since it is usually just the 2 of us, so we don’t really need 7 enormous biscuits between us. It also worked out great for Christmas morning when the oven temperature for the biscuits was 100 degrees warmer than the oven temperature for our egg casseroles. We really like how the edges come out kind of crunchy.
In a bowl, stir dry ingredients together.
Cut in butter to coarse crumb stage.
This can be covered and stored in the refrigerator or freezer at this point.
Add buttermilk. Stir just until blended.
Drop dough into Lodge biscuit pan, using 3 oz. scoop.
Bake 15-18 minutes in 450 degree F oven. Serve warm.
This works great in a mini muffin maker. Use 164 g. of mix and 100 g. (7 T.) buttermilk.
Use 1 oz. scoop and cook for 6-7 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Although spelt is actually a type of wheat flour, most people with wheat allergies can digest spelt with no problem. Obviously, you should not eat spelt if it is a problem for you.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast. Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12-18 hours. Overnight works great.
Place a cast iron dutch oven into oven and heat to 450 degrees F. Heat pot for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, pour dough onto heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating.
Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough. (Don't worry if the shape is ugly at this point. It will even out in the baking process.) Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.
Recipe Notes
Although spelt is actually a type of wheat flour, most people with wheat allergies can digest spelt with no problem. Obviously, you should not eat spelt if it is a problem for you.
These can be quite spicy, depending on the heat of the jalapenos you use. You have the option of using cream cheese in the meatballs or an egg. The egg version seems to be a lot hotter than the cream cheese. However, both have a very nice flavor.
I have used Bob Evans Naturally! in this recipe because it is free of sodium nitrites and MSG.
Hot Sausage & Cheddar Cheese Meatballs
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The combination of Breakfast Sausage and cheddar cheese mixed with jalapenos makes a delicious appetizer that will wake up your taste buds!
Prepare baking pan by lining with foil, then topping with parchment paper.
Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl. Combine with mixer. Shape into meatballs using small cookie scoop.
Bake at 375 degrees F and bake for 15 minutes. My oven has a speed bake option and I use it for these. You may have to bake for an additional 5 minutes or so if you do not have that option.
Recipe Notes
Although spelt is actually a type of wheat flour, most people with wheat allergies can digest spelt with no problem. Obviously, you should not eat spelt if it is a problem for you.
It would be a good idea, after mixing the ingredients, to make a meatball-sized patty and fry it in a skillet to see if you would like to add more jalapenos or other spices.
These can be made up ahead of time and frozen in an airtight container before baking. Then remove from freezer, thaw and bake when needed.