After five soul-sucking months at work, I finally got my kitchen crafting mojo back. Two days before Christmas.

There is a long story about work that I will save for another time, but suffice it to say it drained me both mentally and physically, and my former boss would do well to be in jail. Or maybe prison. Pound him in the ass federal prison… And this is just my personal opinion, nothing factual.

Like I said, another story for another time…

I wasn’t a Scrooge this year, but I didn’t put up the tree, or otherwise decorate, except to put out the Christmas snowflake oven handle towel. The grand babies are scattered, and I just didn’t feel like expending what little energy I had after Thanksgiving to putting up the tree. Maybe next year, LOL…

That said? My husband loves sausage balls, so we took our annual trek over to the pork center where I picked up hot and mild sausage for the above mentioned goody, as well as some other pork staples that we enjoy throughout the winter months.

Note to self (and anyone using a stand mixer to do these): Start out with the paddle to initially mix and then switch to the dough hook to ensure whatever cheese and Bisquick is at the bottom of the bowl gets incorporated to the mix. Recipe at the end. 🙂

Raw Nahunta sausage, Bisquick and cheddar sausage balls. Yum!

The finished product… ❤

I managed to put a pan of sausage balls into the oven and another into the freezer for later, and am currently working on a custom body butter for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

I still have wrapping to do, but at least the shopping is done. I should get a prize for that. Really.

Sausage balls are also really useful when you need to drug your sixty pound rescue outdoor dog for a much needed shave and bath. According to my Fitbit Alta, I burned a crap-ton of calories scalping and bathing Petey. He is a yard dog by (his) choice, but he is getting older, and the nights are getting colder, so we needed to really cut his hair and bathe him because he smelled really BAD. And if we were going to bring him in for the winter, he needed to smell better than wet dog, even when he was dry. He has an aversion to brushes, scissors and trimmers, so we did what we needed to do, and OMG, he is so soft under that shaggy coat, and he smells amazing! 😉

Okay, so here is the sausage ball recipe I said I’d share with you:

• 1 pound of pork bulk sausage. (I use half a pound of Nahunta hot and half a pound of Nahunta mild, but I understand Jimmy Dean and Tennessee Pride are good, too.)
• Scant 3 cups of Bisquick
• 4 cups (aka 1 pound) grated cheddar cheese

Warm your sausage and cheese up to room temperature and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add all ingredients to a large bowl. Mix until combined. If using a stand mixer, start with your paddle, then use your dough hook. If mixing by hand, I will send up a prayer, LOL. Just stir till everything is combined.

Scoop rounded teaspoons of blended goo and roll into 1-1 1/2 inch balls and place on your choice of: greased jelly roll pan; greased broiler pan, or a greased cooling rack placed into a jelly roll pan. (I did the latter, and I really had an issue getting them off without them tearing up, so next time, I will try the broiler pan.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on outside.

Now, I placed half of mine on a foil wrapped cookie sheet and placed in the deep freeze and am about to pull them and put the into freezer bags. These can be baked right out of the freezer; just add 2-3 minutes baking time. I used a cookie sheet to keep them from sticking together, and now that they are frozen, I will transfer them to the freezer bags. 🙂

Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, and a Joyous Holiday season whatever your belief system.

Until next time…