Momma Loves Breakfast!

There is just something about the smell of bacon and the sizzle of sausage!  Add to that the perfectly moist scrambled eggs and a crunchy, nutty piece of toast topped with a dollop of fruity preserves. Hot coffee.  Juicy OJ.  MMMMM....I've always been a lover of breakfast.  I give credit to my dad for passing on this love.  Growing up in Denver, he would create some wonderful breakfast feasts for us...pancakes, waffles, eggs over easy, french toast, and homemade cinnamon rolls.  The cinnamon rolls were a very rare treat.  I remember how he would labor over the dough, creating the perfect spiral, which would be eventually be topped off with a creamy sweet drizzle of icing.  Dad's love of breakfast went beyond the home kitchen. One of our favorite places to stop while traveling was Cracker Barrel restaurants.  Cracker Barrel knows how to make a great breakfast.   As kids, the added fun was playing the wood triangle game they set out at the table, plus to shop for candy in the store afterward.

I woke up today set out to make something new for breakfast.  Touring the freezer and the pantry for inspiration, I came up with a breakfast-style hand-held pizza with a twist on biscuits & gravy.  What makes this recipe even better?  I was able to lower the fat and increase the healthiness factor by using whole wheat bread, low fat cheese, and turkey sausage. 

My freezer ingredients used today were the turkey sausage and scrambled egg patties.  Wal-mart sells the scrambled eggs patties and these are pretty convenient if you are in a hurry.  Normally, I would use fresh eggs, but I'm trying to further the mission of this blog by using items I've hoarded in the freezer.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Toast 4 whole wheat english muffins halves.  Microwave the scrambled egg patties and cook the sausage links in a skillet per the package directions. 

While the sausage cooks and muffins toast, create a simply white sauce. If you have not made white sauce before, it can be a little intimidating because the "sauce" changes consistency several times.  The key tool for perfect white sauce is a wire whisk. Start out with about 2 tablespoons of butter/margarine and melt in a saucepan. Add approximately 1 tablespoon of flour and whisk into the butter until it forms a paste.  Have a jug of milk handy!  Add a small amount of milk and start whisking.  It will look like a lumpy mess at first, but keep whisking and adding milk slowly until you have a smooth consistency.  As the mixture heats, it will thicken. Too thick? Add more milk.  Too thin? Add more flour. 

Divide the white sauce evenly among the muffins halves and top with a scrambled egg patty. 

Slice the sausage links in half lengthwise.  Add 3 sausage halves to each pizza and top with cheese.  Place in oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheese melts. DELISH!