Stuffed Italian Sausage

One of my husband’s favorite dishes is mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese over Italian sausages.  It is a great way to use up mashed potatoes.  It is not something either of us can afford to eat very often, as far calories are concerned, but 3 or 4 times a year I make this special treat.  It’s right up there with pizza for us!  I was not planning on posting this recipe, but snapped a quick photo anyway (before the cheese melted), and then later decided why not!  Kids love sausages and adults.  My mother used to make it for our family for years.  When she decided to start cooking low cholesterol dishes she started broiling the sausages, cutting back on the grease.  It’s delicious broiled, too – nice and brown!

Italian Sausage Mashed Potatoes and Cheese

Ingredients

• 5 gluten-free Italian sausages
• 1/2 cup filtered water
• mashed potatoes
• shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Poke the sausages with a knife about 4 – 5 times on each side.  This will allow much of the fat to escape during the cooking process.
2. In a large frying pan add about 1/2 cup water and sausages.
3. Fry until golden brown, turning every 10 minutes or so.  (Alternatively you can broil them.)
4. Remove the sausage and place on paper towels to remove any excess grease.
5. Holding on to each sausage with a double thick paper towel, cut the sausages in half length-wise.  You can leave them stuck together a bit if you would like to have them look more like a stuffed sausage.  Just make sure you do not cut down all of the way so that they will stand up a bit.
6. Add mashed potatoes and top with cheese.

So, so good!

Tips

• There are several Italian sausages that are gluten-free.  When reading the label look for basic ingredients such as pork, spices, water, etc.
• If you may place the sausages either brown side up or down, whichever you prefer.  They are easier to cut when they are brown side down, but work either way.
• If your mashed potatoes are hot enough the cheese will melt on its own.  If you microwave them, which you won’t want to do, the sausages will overcook and become rubbery.  To melt the cheese place on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for a few seconds.
• To rewarm leftovers (if there are any) place on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
• You will find that a higher fat sausage will shrink quite a bit, therefore, look for a leaner sausage, otherwise you are wasting your money as far as the price per pound.
• To cut back on the calories in this dish, use less butter or margarine in your mashed potatoes.
• For smaller kids you can cut the sausages into bite sized pieces and then top with mashed potatoes and cheese.