Sourdough Sausage & Apple Pancakes

So, you have some overnight guests and want to throw something together in the morning that will be both filling and impressive?  How about a pancake filled with great ingredients that is as large as a small casserole.  This can also be on your brunch menu or something to make with the kids on the weekend that lasts most of the week.  It is pretty inexpensive and easy to prepare.

Remember to pull the sourdough starter out of the refrigerator the nigh before and add a cup of flour and water.  Stir it up and let it sit until morning.  This will take you all of five minutes.

Ingredients:

·         1 lb         Breakfast sausage

·         2 Tbl       Oil (I used Olive Oil)

·         1             Apple

·         1/3 cup   Green onions (optional)

·         1 small    Pepper (optional)

·         1 cup      Starter

·         2 Tbl       Sugar or Honey

·         1             Egg

·         ¾ cup     Flour

·         1 tsp       Baking soda

·         ¼ tsp      Salt

·         1 tsp       water or milk

·         Oil spray

Directions:

1.      Fry up the sausage and break it up into small pieces

2.      Put the sausage in a bowl on a paper towel to drain

3.      Preheat the oven to 425

4.      Core, peel, and chop the apple into chunks.  Don’t chop it too small like I did.  Put the resultant apple into a small bowl, possibly the one with the sausage if it is drained

5.      If you want to add the onions, pepper, or whatever, chop them and add them to the bowl

6.      In a second larger bowl add the starter, sugar/honey, egg, baking soda, salt and water/milk.  If you use honey, add the oil first then the honey using the same tablespoon measurer.  This will make it easier for the honey to flow

7.      Remember to take care of the remaining starter.  Add a cup of water and a cup of flour, stir, let sit for a while (maybe until you pull the pancake out of the oven), and put back in refrigeration

8.      Mix the contents of the larger bowl

9.      Add the contents of the smaller bowl and the sausage to the larger one and mix them all.  Don’t over mix though

10.  Spray a casserole dish of about 8x8x2.25

11.  Pour the larger bowl, the only one with stuff in it, into the casserole dish

12.  Bake for about 15 minutes

13.  Turn the oven down to 350 and heat the casserole for another 15 to 20 minutes.  Poke a toothpick into the middle and on the sides.  If the toothpick comes out clean, you are done.  If not, cook a little longer

14.  Take the finished breakfast out of the oven and let it sit a few minutes.

15.  You can serve from the casserole dish or slide the end results on to a serving dish.  If it comes out in one piece everyone will be impressed.  If it doesn’t, call it rustic