Tuesday Treats - Faux Italian Sausage

I love this recipe. It's easy for when I need Italian sausage but have none on hand. (not to mention it's so much cheaper and better for us to make faux Italian sausage out of lean ground beef than to buy the pork variety!)

I have experimented with varying the salt, cumin, and pepper. It's really personal preference! I left the ingredients as the original for you to experiment but have altered the directions.

Ground Beef or Turkey Sausage

Ingredients:
•1 pound of ground turkey or very lean ground beef
•1/2 teaspoon of salt
•1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
•1/4 teaspoon of pepper
•1 teaspoon of cumin
•1/2 teaspoon of sage
•1/4 teaspoon of basil
•1/4 teaspoon of oregano

Directions:
1.In a small bowl, mix salt, garlic salt, pepper, cumin, sage, basil and oregano.

2.In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef or ground turkey with the small bowl of dry mixture.

3. Mix until evenly distributed. Use this as you would any bulk sausage. If forming into patties, keep them very thin, especially if you choose turkey for your main ingredient. Patties that are overly thick may seem too dry, as both turkey and lean ground beef contain less fat than regular sausage

NOTE: This "sausage" is best when it can sit in the fridge at least overnight.

I've used this in spaghetti sauces and on homemade pizzas. I've also heard it's good in breakfast casseroles!

Thanks to http://breakfast-recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/homemade_sausage_from_lean_ground_beef_or_turkey for the recipe! (They also have a breakfast casserole on this link. I've made a similar one with oregano and regular pork sausage. Yummy!)