Fresh Country Pork Sausage and Spinach Feta Scramble

So, I've had 4 humungous, thick, boneless center cut pork chops sitting in the freezer for a while now - Greg just didn't like them on their own.

This weekend, I was planning to cut them in chunks to make some sort of stew or soup... but, my Kitchen Aid mixer had other plans. ;) For our wedding, my fabulous co-workers bought us the grinder attachment for the KA. Given that this week at work was filled with some fabulous bureaucratic "sausage making" - I thought it would be a good weekend to put the grinder to the test for some real sausage making. Unfortunately, I haven't yet bought any sausage casings, and, even more importantly, I'm on the new eating healthy plan. Hence, no nibs of pork fat lying around to make REAL sausage. ;)

So, from this was born our delicious - and relatively healthy - brunch this morning. Yum! Overall, it satisfied my craving for breakfast sausage without all of the fat & calories.

Fresh (Light) Country Pork Sausage
Makes approx 8-9 patties
Source: Me!

- 1lb lean ground pork (I used fresh, course ground, center cut pork chops)
- approx 1 t kosher salt
- one clove of minced garlic
- a few turns worth of freshly ground pepper
- leaves from approx 5-10 sprigs of fresh thyme
- a few shakes of poultry seasoning
- a dash of cayenne pepper

Put the ground pork in a bowl with the seasonings on top. Mix in all the seasonings lightly with a fork. Don't overmix. Hand shape into patties. Cook over medium high heat... but, don't overdo it, or you'll have very dry pucks of pork, since there's not a lot of fat in these (if you use lean meat).

Spinach Feta Scramble
2 eggs
3 egg whites
handful of frozen spinach
clove of minced garlic
a couple tablespoons of feta cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Lightly saute the spinach with the garlic for a few minutes over medium high heat, then, spread it evenly over the bottom of the pan.
Mix the eggs and egg whites in a bowl, and pour the egg mixture over the spinach.
Let the mixture set a bit, and then begin to scramble the mixture.
When the eggs are fully cooked, put them on a plate and sprinkle with feta cheese.