It has been a little while since I entered the monthy event the Royal Foodie Joust over at Jenn's site Leftover Queen . Jenn is our talented and industrious mentor who developed the Foodie Blog Roll which now has over 5,000 members. When I started entering the Joust I remember saying it had a mere 1,000 members. How times change!!! Can you imagine visiting so many wonderful food blogs!!! Each month the previous month's winner of the Joust chooses 3 ingredients for the following months challenge. The Royal Foodie Joust is a fun monthly peer voted competition that is hosted on TheLeftoverQueen/FoodieBlogroll Forum! Like a fine wine it gets better with age. Every month the competition gets stiffer and more creative as Jousters try to outdo each other! I would agree and say that it is also one of the friendliest competitions I have ever seen. As Jenn says, "We don’t bite, unless of course there is real food in our faces."This month the winner chose:
apples, cayenne pepper and maple syrup.
Let the GAMES BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!I immediately thought of some delicious chicken/apple sausages I wanted to duplicate. Now you could have these for dinner with a roasted sweet potato mash and an apple cider sauce, but for this time around I chose to have these beauties for my breakfast with the works...sunny-side up eggs, hashbrowns and Canadian bacon. This is a simple and homey use of the 3 ingredients that is sure to please. If you have any leftovers bring on the puff pastry and make heart-healthy sausage rolls for a great beginning for any cocktail party......very retro!!!!
** Chicken-Apple Sausage**
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 small Fuji apples, peeled and grated
2 pounds ground chicken breast
1/4 to 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped sage
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
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In a large, heavy skillet heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and apples and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and cool. In a large bowl combine the chicken, maple syrup, thyme, sage, salt, pepper and cayenne. Add the cooled onion mixture and mix well.
On a plastic-covered surface, form the mixture into 8 (4-ounce) patties, about 3 inches in diameter each. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat. Add 4 patties to the pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and serve hot. Melt the butter in a nonstick saute pan over medium heat.
For a hearty breakfast serve with eggs, hashbrowns and bacon.
