Mini Sausage Appetizers

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage
• 1 lb. Velveeta
• 1 1/2 tesp. oregano
• 1/2 tesp. garlic powder
• 2 loaves baby rye cocktail bread

Brown beef and sausage, drain. Return to pan, add cheese and spices, stir until melted through.

Spread onto slices of bread on baking sheet. Broil 5-7 minutes until bubbly.

Black and White

Prep time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4, maybe more

2 - 3 cups of cooked black beans; drained (you could use canned)
2 - 3 cups of cooked brown rice (or white)
1/2 a package of kielbasa sausage (about 1/2 pound); cubed, browned in a skillet, and drained

Heat the beans and rice in a pot, add the meat once it's browned and drained. You probably won't need to add salt because the sausage is salty.

Serve with cornbread if you're of a southern persuasion like us. :)

I'm a big fan of rice and beans together so I like to make this when I have left-overs. The measurements vary each time. It doesn't need to be exact, just a close 1 to 1 ratio works. Or you could make everything specifically for this dish if you wanted.

Breakfast Pizza

Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 20 - 25 minutes
Servings: 4

2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 pound Jimmy Dean sausage; browned & drained
1 cup frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
4 tablespoons diced sweet red pepper
4 tablespoons diced green pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs
4 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese
pepper to taste

Separate crescent dough into 8 triangles; arrange into a rectangle on an ungreased baking dish. Build up edges slightly to create a crust; seal perforations.

Cook sausage until no longer pink; drain. Sprinkle over crust. Top with potatoes, peppers and cheddar cheese.

Whisk together the eggs, milk and pepper. Pour over pizza; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until eggs are completely set and top is golden brown.

Cheesy Rotel Dip

• 1 lb. Velveeta (1/2 a box); cubed
• 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes
• 1/2 lb. Jimmy Dean Sausage
• 1/4 C. milk

Brown sausage, drain off grease. Meanwhile in a microwave safe dish, melt cheese with milk in microwave, stirring every minute. When completely melted add in the sausage and can of tomatoes with juice. Mix well. Keep warm in crockpot. Serve with tortilla chips.

This is yummy yummy to your tummy, but not a low fat recipe. :)

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

Makes: 9 x 13 pan (which serves 8 or 12 depending on how hungry you are!)

• 10 slices of bread; diced up
• 1 pound package Jimmy Dean sausage; browned & drained
• 2 C. potatoes; peeled, diced and cooked until half-way softened (can be added to sausage to cook)
• 1/2 medium onion; diced
• 1/2 medium green bell pepper; diced
• 2 C. milk
• 8 eggs
• 1 T Worcestershire
• 1 tesp. dry mustard
• 3 C. shredded cheese (colby-jack or cheddar)

Dice up bread and place in bottom of glass 9x13 pan.

Brown the sausage. Peel and cut up potatoes, add to sausage to soften up a bit. Drain off grease.

In a large bowl beat eggs, whisk in milk, Worcestershire, dry mustard. Dice up onion and green pepper. Add veggies, potatoes, and sausage to egg mixture.

Pour over top of bread. Top with shredded cheese.

Better if refrigerated overnight before baking.

Bake covered in foil for 1 hour @ 350 degrees. Uncover for the last 20 minutes.

This is a close variation of the dish we always have for breakfast on Christmas morning. I'm not usually a big fan of egg, but this one is very good with all the other ingredients.

We like to have this with our favorite Christmas Citrus Salad.

Uncle Larry's Red Beans and Rice

• 1 lb. red beans (soaked according to package directions)
• 1 lb. smoked sausage, cut into small chunks
• 1.5 lb. ham, cubed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pinch cumin
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 T. garlic powder
• 1 C. green onion, sliced
• 1.5 tesp. hot sauce/ Tabasco
  
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Cook sausage with onion and garlic in a stock pot until translucent. Add beans with soaking water, ham, and all other ingredients. Cook 1.5 - 2 hours until beans are tender. Serve over rice.

My Grandma's brother Larry created this dish and it quickly became a family favorite. It is quite a southern recipe, perfect for cold weather, and very hearty.

In my family cookbook, which my mom hand wrote, her footnotes say "Serve with cornbread and Grandma Jost's slaw. A meal fixen's good enough for the Preacher!"

Hearty Potato Sausage Soup

Prep time: 40 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves: 8

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil or butter
  
• 8 medium potatoes; peeled and cut into about 1/4 in cubes
  
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 can chicken broth (or 2 Tbsp chicken bouillon stock base)
• 2 C. water
  
• 1/2 pkg Jimmy Dean regular sausage, browned and drained
  
• salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning (optional)
• 1 T. butter
  

Cook sausage in heavy stock pot, drain and set aside, discard drippings. Prep veggies. Then heat oil or butter in pot, saute onion and celery with a pinch of salt until translucent. Add carrots and and potatoes, let them get a little soft. Add milk, broth, water, pepper, sausage, and Italian seasoning; simmer until potatoes are cooked through and soup has reached desired thickness. Taste for flavor, season with additional salt if necessary. Stir in 1 T. butter at the end before serving (to give soup extra creaminess).

I made up this recipe myself yesterday because I had half a package of sausage left over from another meal. I would have also added some uncooked spinach at the end if I had it. This tastes similar to Olive Garden's "Zupa Tuscana". It was perfect for a cold dreary day. I would serve it with a crusty Italian bread, cut up and broiled with some grated cheese on top.