Sausage Balls

1 lb. lean sausage
2 cups shredded, cheddar cheese
1 tube (8 count) crescent rolls
2 Tbsp. flour

Mix the sausage and cheese until well blended.  Lay your crescent rolls on a cutting board or piece of parchment paper sprinkled with flour, lightly coating both sides.  With a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the crescent rolls into 1/4" cubes.  Mix into the sausage cheese mix.  Shape into balls and bake 12-15 minutes.

Comment:  I can't take credit for this dish.  I actually found it on the Pillsbury website.  I can say that is is easy and oh so delicious!  You get the flavor of the sausage, cheese and that slight sweet taste of the crescent rolls.

Sausage and Grits Casserole

1 lb. lean sausage
3/4 cup uncooked quick cook grits
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook sausage until done and crumbled.  Cook grits according to package directions.  Stir in sausage, cheese, milk & eggs.  Pour into a 2 qt. baking dish sprayed with non-stick.  Bake 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Comments:  I found a version of this in the Holiday edition of Southern Living.  It called for smoked sausage, garlic & thyme.  I used Jimmy Dean's extra sage sausage, which is very lean and flavorful.  I also omitted the garlic and thyme.  Plus, I cut the recipe in half.  This dish turned out wonderful!  Even my Food Tester who is from NY loved it.  I'll be making it again but I'm going to add sauted onions and possibly some bell peppers.  This is also an attractive dish that has everything in one dish.

Sausage and Noodle Squares

1/2 (1-pound) pkg. Creamette Egg Noodles, cooked as directed (I used elbow)
1/2 lb. bulk Italian or country sausage (I used country sausage)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used 1 1/2 cups, adding 1/2 inside the dish). 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large skillet, brown meat, pour off fat.  Add celery and onions.  Cook and stir until vegetables are tender.  In a large bowl beat milk and eggs together.  Stir in all ingredients except cheese (this is where I added 1/2 cup of cheese).  Turn into a greased 2 quart shallow baking dish (I used 9 x 13 x 2).  Cover and bake 40 minutes.  Uncover and top with cheese.  Bake another 3 minutes (I covered mine for this extra time).  Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.  Cut into squares to serve.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Comments:  This recipe came from a booklet titled Tried & True Money-Saving Meals - from Creamettes.  The book let dates 1981 but they are still just as good today as they were back then.  I thought about using the Italian sausage but at the last minute decided to use lean country sausage.  This dish is delicious and would be a great dish for just about any time but especially Brunch.  I think it would also be good made with bacon, ground beef, chicken, and even ham.  This is a fun dish to play with and I can't wait to try some of the other dishes inside its covers.

Comment from Food Tester Carol:  What makes this dish different and an interesting "eat" is the sausage and the way it works with the cheddar and noodles.  I like it better than traditional ground-beef noodle recipes and...yes...better than simple mac and cheese.  It's delicious just out of the oven and I have to admit, even cold!

Breakfast Spaghetti

1 lb. lean sausage
½ cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped bell peppers, red and/or green
1 cup shredded cheese
6 eggs
½ cup sour cream
½ lb. uncooked spaghetti

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook spaghetti according to package directions, drain.  While spaghetti is cooking brown sausage in a large frying pan.  When done, drain and transfer from the pan into a large bowl.  Add onions and bell peppers to pan and sauté for about 5 minutes over medium high heat.   Add onions, peppers and cheese to sausage.  Toss to blend.  In a second bowl beat eggs and sour cream until smooth.    Spray an 8 x 8 x 2 baking dish with non-stick spray.  Cover bottom with spaghetti.  Spread sausage mix over spaghetti.  Pour egg mixture over sausage.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until firm in the center.

Comments:  I've made other dishes using spaghetti as the 'crust' so decided to see what I could do with sausage.  This came out a lot like a quiche with the spaghetti giving it a bit of a twist being used as the crust.  This can be done with bacon, cooked and crumbled, or ground beef.  If you used ground beef you might want to top it with sour cream and salsa.  This is a fun recipe to play with as you Think With Your Taste Buds.

Cheezy Bacon Grit Muffins

1/2 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled
2 pkg. (individual size) instant grits
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 cup self rising flour

Make grits according to directions on package. Add milk, egg , cheese and flour. Combine until moistened. Fold in bacon. Line muffin 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Spray with non-stick spray. Divide mix equally into muffin tins. Bake 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven

Try this with sausage or ham. It's good no matter what type of meat you enjoy for breakfast.