Chicken Apple Sausage

I'm so proud of myself, guys. I developed this recipe on my very own!

It was inspired by a recent trip to Cape Cod. (Sandwich, Massachusetts, to be exact. Yes, that is the real name of the town.) A breakfast place we went to offered chicken apple sausage instead of regular sausage, which always thrills us. We LOVE sausage, but no longer eat pork. You wouldn't believe how few places have turkey or chicken sausage on the menu. Even Publix's chicken sausage is stuffed into a pork casing.

I came home from that trip with total culinary inspiration and whipped up a batch of chicken apple sausage patties for dinner the other night. I took one bite and was SO proud of myself!

Here's what you'll need:

Measuring spoons are by Real Simple and they are the best in the world.

• 1 lb. package of ground chicken
• 1 small Granny Smith apple
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. pepper
• 1 t. onion powder
• 1 t. sage
• 1 t. rosemary
• 1 T maple syrup (roughly)
• 1/2 t. crushed red pepper (optional)

First, cut your apple into fourths and cut out the core. Then, grate the entire apple on a cheese grater.

It's much easier and quicker than grating cheese.

Stick it in a bowl with the ground chicken. Add all the spices and a drizzle of maple syrup. I actually didn't even measure out the syrup. I just kinda drizzled a bit in there.

Get in there with your hands and mix it up. Realize your chicken was still frozen on the bottom. Wash your freezing hands under warm water and let the mixture sit for a minute to thaw out while you make some pancake batter.

Finish mixing everything up and shape into patties. I made mine to fit on an English muffin (although I ended up eating them plain the next morning). They may be very "wet," so you can add bread crumbs if you want, but we didn't have any trouble keeping them together.

Heat a Tbsp of oil in a non-stick pan and fry on both sides until brown. Your mouth will be watering.

Serve with pancakes! (I fried the pancakes while my husband fried the sausage.)

I loved them at first bite. My husband said he could have done with a bit more chicken or less apple, but I thought the proportion was spot-on. Just FYI. 

Turns out, this recipe is completely Paleo, if you're into that sort of thing. (Jennie, I bet your son would love this!)