Sausage sauerkraut pancakes with Jimmy Dean Sausage Crumbles

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Jimmy Dean, and I am being compensated for creating this recipe. The sauerkraut obsession, however, is mine - for now. I'm warning you, the combination of sausage and sauerkraut may be contagious and highly addictive.

I am obsessed with making sauerkraut.

Do you know how easy it is to make homemade sauerkraut? Cabbage. Salt. Pressure. Time. That's it.

Whether homemade or store-bought, sauerkraut is good, and, many believe, good for you. Google "health benefits fermented foods" and you'll see a long list of articles suggesting that eating naturally fermented foods like pickles and sauerkraut help the digestive and immune systems. (Take a look at this method if you're interested in making your own, although store-bought works perfectly well in this recipe.)

When the nice people at Jimmy Dean asked if I'd be interested in trying their new Sausage Crumbles, my mind went immediately to the perfect combination: sausage and sauerkraut. The spices in the sausage play off the acidic tang of the fermented cabbage. (Think of sauerkraut on a hot dog or a grilled link sausage.)

I've always loved savory pancakes and was inspired by a picture of sauerkraut pancakes from Bon Appetit. I chose Jimmy Dean's Hearty Turkey Sausage Crumbles for this recipe, but you could easily use their other varieties: Hearty Original Sausage Crumbles or Hearty Hot & Spicy Sausage Crumbles. They're sold in the refrigerated section of major supermarkets and I found them extremely flavorful and easy to use - you get to skip the extra step of browning the meat, and there's no messy fat to drain.

Serve these sausage sauerkraut pancakes as a light lunch or dinner. I ate them for breakfast, but that's me. Oh, and that sauce drizzled on top? Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup, one of my new fruit ketchups, of course. Not too sweet, a little spicy, lots of tang - it matched the flavors of the sausage and sauerkraut perfectly.

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Sausage Sauerkraut Pancakes

by Erika Kerekes March-18-2014

Savory pancakes studded with chunks of Jimmy Dean fully cooked Hearty Turkey Sausage Crumbles and loaded with tangy fermented sauerkraut. Making your own sauerkraut is easy, but store-bought sauerkraut works fine in this recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sauerkraut, liquid drained, tightly packed before measuring (homemade or jarred)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose baking mix (I use Bisquick)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 bag Jimmy Dean Hearty Turkey Sausage Crumbles (9.6 ounces)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 Tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil, for frying (use more as needed)
• Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup, for serving

Instructions

Put the sauerkraut in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Let drain, then squeeze the sauerkraut to get out as much of the excess liquid as possible. To a large bowl, add the sauerkraut and eggs. Whisk lightly with a fork to break up the eggs. Add the baking mix and milk and mix again until everything is combined. Stir in the Jimmy Dean Hearty Turkey Sausage Crumbles, then season the mixture generously with freshly ground black pepper.Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon of oil, then spoon 4 pancakes into the skillet, using about 3 Tablespoons of batter for each pancake. Cook until golden brown, then turn the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the second side. Remove the cooked pancakes to a plate, or to a rack set over a sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining oil and pancake batter until all the pancakes are made.Serve warm with Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: about 16 4-inch pancakes

#spon: I'm required to disclose a relationship between our site and Jimmy Dean. This could include Jimmy Dean providing us with content, product, access or other forms of payment.

Broccoli fritters

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I try not to get my kids hooked on fried vegetables, but some days I figure fried vegetables are better than no vegetables.

My husband's book club met at our house and left us with half a tray of roasted broccoli. I chopped it up, added some eggs and flour, and fried away. Hot Dog Boy downed a dozen. Mission accomplished.

How do you use leftover vegetables? I'd love to hear your ideas!

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Broccoli fritters

by Erika Kerekes July-10-2013

Leftover cooked broccoli morphs neatly into crispy broccoli fritters.

Ingredients

• 4 cups roasted or steamed broccoli, finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 lemon (juice and zest)
• 1/4 cup parmesan or Romano cheese, grated
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (may need less if the broccoli is already salted)
• grapeseed or canola oil, for frying

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix together the broccoli, eggs, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest, cheese, and salt.Heat about 2 Tablespoons of oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, start frying the fritters, using about 2 Tablespoons of the broccoli mixture for each fritter and flattening the patties gently with a spatula. Pan-fry until golden brown on both sides, then put the finished fritters on a sheet pan lined with paper towels to let some of the oil wick away.Continue cooking the broccoli fritters, adding more oil to the pan as necessary, until all the broccoli mixture has been used.Serve the broccoli fritters hot.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: approximately 2 dozen 4-inch fritters

Easy quinoa fritters {gluten-free}

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I was not planning to make quinoa fritters for dinner. They were sort of an accident.

You see, yesterday I cooked quinoa for the first time. I know, I know - you think I'm nuts. Quinoa is one of the most fashionable grains of the 21st century. So sue me - I had a few bad quinoa experiences and was convinced I didn't like it.

But when I saw organic quinoa at Costco, I thought I'd give it one more try. And I'm glad I did. Because, in fact, I do like quinoa. I especially like the quinoa salad I made yesterday, where I dressed the warm quinoa with mustard, lemon juice and olive oil, and then added green onions, pomegranate arils, feta cheese and chopped toasted pecans. (Recipe coming soon, I promise.)

So the accidental fritters? Well, I made too much quinoa and needed to find another quinoa outlet. I decided to mix the quinoa with eggs, green onions, diced red bell peppers, and a bit of cheese and fry them in patties - very similar to the leftover rice pancakes I make from time to time.

I made these quinoa fritters for dinner tonight and my boys just inhaled them. I was hoping to have a few pancakes left over to pack in their lunches tomorrow. Not so much. They are really, really good. The quinoa gets very crispy and crunchy, and the overall texture of the pancakes stays very light. I highly recommend them.

One of my Facebook friends suggests that these quinoa fritters would work well for Hanukkah when you get sick of potato latkes (if that's even possible). And, by the way, these fritters are absolutely gluten-free.

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Easy quinoa fritters

by Erika Kerekes November-29-2012

Mix leftover cooked quinoa with eggs, vegetables and a bit of cheese and fry the mixture in olive oil, and you've got quinoa fritters - an excellent gluten-free side dish your family will love.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs eggs
• 3-4 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mozzarella or Monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed for frying

Instructions

Mix the quinoa, eggs, green onions, bell pepper, and both cheeses in a large bowl until the mixture is thoroughly combined.Heat a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.Add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Drop heaping tablespoons of the quinoa mixture into the hot pan; leave space between the fritters. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on a rack set over a sheet pan or on a plate lined with paper towels. Cook the rest of the fritters in batches, keeping the finished fritters warm in a low oven (200 degrees) if desired. Serve hot.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: about 12 fritters