Easy Breakfast Sausage

I fry up one of these patties for breakfast every other day or so. They are especially tasty on toast! I use ground chicken, though you can certainly try ground pork or turkey. Turkey is very dry however, so the patty doesn't stick together as well. Liberally adapted from a Bobby Flay recipe.

olive/veg. oil

1 shallot or small onion, minced

2-3 cloves (or more!) garlic, minced

2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds

2 tablespoons mustard (I use a mix of Dijon and whole-grain)

2 tablespoons sage, minced (less if using dried)

2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, minced

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 pound ground chicken

salt & pepper

Saute shallot in the oil over medium heat until soft. Add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook one minute longer. Remove from heat and stir in mustard, sage, tomatoes and cayenne; let cool. Mix with ground chicken, season with salt and pepper.

At this point you can form into patties (6-8) and fry up immediately. I usually put patties on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and freeze. After they are frozen, store in a freezer bag and cook up at your leisure.

Coconut Shortbread

An extremely simple yet addictive recipe! This is adapted from Food & Wine, though I have no idea when I cut out the recipe.

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a springform pan or tart pan with removable bottom. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. (I start with a wooden spoon and end up with my hands--as with any shortbread, it's very crumbly!). Pack dough into pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Remove pan sides and cut into 12-16 wedges. Place wedges on a cookie sheet and bake until crisp, another 5 minutes.