Spicy Parmesan Sausage Meatballs with a Whiskey Barbecue Sauce

I don't eat red meat so meatballs are generally off the table (quite literally) in our house. But Eric loves them and I wanted to come up with some variation that we both could eat. Then it donned on me: sausage! We both like sausage, especially spicy sausage. These things smelled so good cooking that Eric couldn't resist coming into the kitchen more than once to see if they were done yet.

Sausage meatball recipe adapted from here.
Whiskey sauce recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Meatballs
16-ounce roll of spicy pork sausage
1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sauce

2/3 cup ketchup*
2/3 cup brown sugar*
1/3 cup honey whiskey (I used Jack Daniel's Honey Whiskey)

*Or you can substitute out the ketchup and brown sugar for 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

Directions:
Meatballs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl with your hands. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and place in the baking dish in a single layer.

Bake for 12-14 mintutes or until thoroughly cooked.

Sauce
Mix together ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes.*

Pour sauce over meatballs and serve.

*The cook time on this sauce should vary by taste. After 20 minutes of simmer, Eric thought the sauce still tasted too strongly of alcohol (I disagree, I loved it). Depending on your preferences, you could cook the sauce for longer to burn off more of the booze or pour in less whiskey to begin with. Just taste the sauce as you go until you find your perfect balance.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Sausage Recipes:
Black Bean and Sausage Stovetop Casserole
Cheesy Sausage and Potato Casserole
Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Sausage
Pumpkin Penne Casserole
Roasted Sausage, Potatoes, and Peppers 
Sausage and Bean Casserole
Savory Apples Stuffed with Sage and Sausage
The Tale of Two Quiches: Spicy Sausage and Spinach Quiche

Savory Baked Apples Stuffed with Sage and Sausage

I've been dying to do a savory apple recipe. When I told Eric that I planned to make apples stuffed with sausage, he was less than excited. I should have taken a picture of the face he made. But I wasn't going to let that deter me. And I'm glad I didn't. These turned out fabulous. I fell in love with them at first bite. It took Eric a couple more bites to come around. After the first bite, he said it was different. And it did have a different palate than what we're used to. But he finished every last bite of the stuffed apples and then declared that they were good. I honestly can't wait to make them again.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons yellow onion, minced
1/2 pound spicy pork sausage
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt
pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I made my own by toasting a couple pieces of white bread and crumbling them)
4 to 5 apples (I used Fuji)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sausage to skillet. Break the meat up and cook until it's no longer pink, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the sage and thyme. Season with salt and peeper. Stir in breadcrumbs and remove from heat.

Cut off the tops of each apple. Scoop out the insides of the apple including the core, seeds, and flesh. I used a regular spoon, though a melon baller probably would have made it easier. Discard the insides.

Divide the stuffing among the apples, packing each apple full. Place the apples in the baking dish. Dot each apple with a small dab of the remaining butter.

Bake apples until the flesh is tender, 45 to 60 minutes.

Because Eric was so unenthusiastic about this dish, I only made 3 apples; that way he'd have leftover sausage to eat for dinner in case he didn't like the apples. Thankfully he did! But I could have easily stuffed 5 apples with the sausage.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Apple Recipes
Baked Apple Chips
Apple Rings!
Delicious Apple Pie 
An Apple Cider Cake
Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel Filling and Spiced Rum Frosting

More Sausage Recipes
Black Bean and Sausage Stovetop Casserole
Cheesy Sausage and Potato Casserole
Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Sausage
Pumpkin Penne Casserole
Roasted Sausage, Potatoes, and Peppers 
Sausage and Bean Casserole
The Tale of Two Quiches: Spicy Sausage and Spinach Quiche

Roasted Sausage, Potatoes, and Peppers

It's the week of Thanksgiving. The big meal--turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, rolls, pumpkin pie (or in our case pumpkin dip, per Eric's request)--is just days away. With all that cooking ahead, what in the world do you make in the days leading up to the holiday? Something easy, comforting, and filling: roasted sausage, potatoes, and peppers.

One pan, 45 minutes.

Adapted from this recipe. 

Ingredients:
4 to 5 potatoes, diced small (we used russet)
14 ounces jalapeno sausage, chopped (or your favorite type of sausage)
1 to 2 red bell peppers, sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
rosemary, to taste (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil for easy clean up.

Toss the potatoes, sausages, and peppers with oil and spread out on the cookie sheet. Season with spices. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Eric was not thrilled when I told him what was for dinner tonight. He doesn't care for peppers. But one of the many great things about him is that he'll try anything. Well, he went back for seconds.

Enjoy!

~Krissy