Breakfast Sausage Patties with Potatoes and Spinach

Being the product of a tried and true Midwest/Southern family, meat and potatoes course through my veins. Growing up, besides my sister’s frequent requests of spaghetti (and at that age, “spaghetti” meant buttered noodles with the sauce in a bowl on the side), it’s difficult to recall a meal without these two essential ingredients. From this, my deep love for savory breakfast flourished (yes, we’ll go with “flourished”) into a full-on obsession. Pancakes or donuts for breakfast? I’ll pass. If I want to feel full and satisfied, I need a down-home, meat-and-potatoes breakfast—modified for Whole30, of course. So, this recipe is my first attempt to squash the 10-year-old girl inside of me that wants biscuits and gravy for every meal.

                           Breakfast Sausage Patties with Potatoes and Spinach

Breakfast Sausage

1 egg

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds, chopped

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons ground sage

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, more or less to taste

1 – 1 1/4 pound ground pork or ground meatloaf mix

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Potatoes and Spinach

1 – 2 tablespoons reserved pork fat

2 medium white or sweet potatoes, diced

salt and pepper, to taste

2-3 handfuls of spinach

Coconut oil, if needed

1.) Add egg and spices to a medium bowl. Whisk together until fully incorporated. Add ground pork or meatloaf mix, and mix with your hands until egg and spice mixture is evenly dispersed throughout the meat, trying to work the meat as minimally as possible.

2.) Form meat into patties. I typically divide the meat into 5 equal balls, and then divide each ball into 2 patties—for a total of 10 patties. Your size and quantity can vary depending on your needs and preferences.

3.) Heat a large sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add coconut oil, and swirl to coat the pan.

4.) Add 5 patties to the pan, and cook about 4-6 minutes on each side depending on their thickness. Adjust heat as needed. (Note: I typically drop the heat to slightly above medium after a couple of minutes to prevent the outside of the sausage from burning before the inside is fully cooked. This, of course, depends on the hotness of your stove. Your main goal is get nice browning on the outside and fully cooked on the inside.)

5.) Remove patties from pan and rest on a paper-towel lined plate. Cook remaining patties.

6.) After patties are cooked, set aside and remove pan from heat. Reserve 1 to 2 tablespoons of fat and wipe out with a paper towel.

7.) Return clean pan to medium to medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of reserved fat and swirl to coat the pan.

8.) Add potatoes to pan. Season with salt and pepper, and mix. Cover potatoes and let cook 8-10 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork, stirring occasionally. If the potatoes start sticking to the pan, turn heat down to medium and add additional tablespoon of the reserved fat.

9.) When potatoes done, add spinach. Mix spinach to wilt. Taste for seasoning, and adjust as needed. Remove from heat and serve with sausage patties.

Recommendations:

Beat 4-5 eggs in a bowl and add to potatoes, 2-3 minutes before potatoes are done. Cook eggs and potatoes undisturbed for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach, and break up the egg and potato mixture with a spatula and continue to stir until the egg is fully cooked and spinach is wilted.

Sausage recipe adapted from: http://meatified.com/slow-cooker-breakfast-meatloaf/