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Cookbook of the Month Recipe – Tiny Sausage-Tomato Bites
Filed under Appetizers, Cookbook of the MonthMay 22
I have been in love with appetizers lately. Maybe it’s because my sisters, mom and I catered our cousin’s wedding reception a few weeks ago. I ate so much that you would think that I would be sick of appetizers, but I keep wanting more!! So when it was my turn to host our monthly family dinner this month, I decided to do all appetizers!! Everyone brought one or two appetizers and we all had quite the feast.As part of my contribution, I brought these sausage bites. When I saw them in this month’s cookbook, I knew I wanted to make them because they looked so good to me. Come to find out, my mom said that these were all the rage back in the 70s. So they may not be new to some of you!!
Unfortunately, I think these need some tweaking from the original recipe. First of all, they use baking mix (like Bisquick) which I’m not opposed to using, but for some reason, I could not find any at the grocery store that day. I ended up buying some pancake mix, which I figured had similar ingredients, but maybe that was my first mistake.
I went to make the balls. I’m mixing up the ingredients, but it is not all coming together. The recipe says that the mixture will seem dry, but it was so dry that I couldn’t even get the mix to come together into balls. So I added an egg to the mix, and that seemed to do the trick. But, when I tried one, they were really dry. Really dry. I was so sad, because I had been looking forward to trying these for so long!
But is it a complete loss? Well, I don’t think all of them from that batch were eaten, but I do want to try them again with an adjustment. The recipe calls for 3 cups of baking mix, but I think cutting that in half would make a great little sausage ball that actually tastes like sausage. I’ll have to give it a try sometime and let you know how it goes!
Recipe Rating (as it is written): 3 out of 5
Tiny Sausage-Tomato Bites
from The Deen Family CookbookMakes 48 bites
1 pound bulk sausage (hot, sweet or breakfast sausage)
3 cups baking mix, such as Bisquick
2 cups (1/2 pound) grated Cheddar cheese
24 cherry or grape tomatoes, halvedPreheat the oven to 375F.
In a medium bowl, combine the sausage, baking mix and cheese. Mix very well with your hands or in a food processor, until the meat and cheese are evenly distributed. (The mixture will seem dry.) Roll and press mixture into 1-inch balls.
Transfer the sausage balls to a baking sheet and flatten each one with the palm of your hand. Make a small indentation in each patty with your thumb and nestle a tomato half, cut side up, in the indentation.
Bake until the meat is cooked through, 15 to 25 minutes. Serve hot or warm.
17 Responses to “Cookbook of the Month Recipe – Tiny Sausage-Tomato Bites”
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Anonymous said on May 22nd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I make thse every Christmas Eve for our brunch (without the tomato)! They are truly yummy, but my recipe calls for more sausage than a pound. I also use more cheese (you can’t go wrong with a lot of cheddar). They always turn out terrific. Don’t give up on the recipe – you will really like them once they turn out.
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Ingrid said on May 22nd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
That stinks! That’s two from this book that was not all you hoped it would be. they do look pretty good though.
~ingrid[Reply]
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Colleen said on May 22nd, 2009 at 6:14 pm
I love appetizers too – these look great!
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Talia said on May 22nd, 2009 at 7:23 pm
The ratio of Bisquick to sausage and cheese is different than the recipe my family has used for as long as I remember:
1lb bulk sausage
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups BisquickPre-heat oven 350
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Shape into balls, bake for 20 minutes.
You can also cook the sausage first and press them into mini muffin pans for a slightly lighter biscuitier version. Both kinds get gobbled up like mad when I make them and are requested for parties. They freeze very well.
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Elyse said on May 22nd, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Aww, I’m sorry that this recipe didn’t turn out as wonderfully as you would’ve liked. It does sound like with some minor tweaks, the recipe will taste just great!! They certainly look yummy in the photograph. By the way, I love appetizer dinners.
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Reeni♥ said on May 24th, 2009 at 12:20 am
I’m sorry they didn’t turn out good. It seems strange that they would be dry with the sausage in them. I would think the grease would moisten everything up. They sound like such a great flavor combo!
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Abby said on May 24th, 2009 at 1:44 am
Sausage Balls. We have these every Christmas, too!
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Dragon said on May 24th, 2009 at 2:23 am
Such a shame you didn’t like them. They look pretty.
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Sylvie said on May 24th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Like you I could happily just have a range of appertizers some days. The sausage balls do look good, I hope they’ll work like you want them out with some tweaking.
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Emily said on May 25th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Well they sound delicious. I’d love to give them a try. What’s up with the Bisquik? That’s so weird.
Appetizers are the best, I agree.
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sugar & spice said on May 25th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Looks great and simple enough to assemble. Looking forward to preparing some on my own
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sugar & spice said on May 25th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Looks great and simple enough to assemble. Looking forward to preparing some on my own
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eatme_delicious said on May 25th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Too bad they didn’t turn out how you hoped but they look good! I don’t make appetizers too often. Maybe I should!
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Jean Bugs said on May 26th, 2009 at 3:49 am
We’ve made these for years. The bisquik is essential! Try Talia’s recipe-don’t give up!
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Grace said on May 26th, 2009 at 10:05 am
i, too, know these little balls well. i’ve never included the tomato though–great idea, it makes it much more decorative!
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♥Rosie♥ said on May 27th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
The sausage balls do look good,but sorry to hear they didn’t quite turn out right for you.
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LilSis said on May 28th, 2009 at 2:03 am
What a blast from the past! My mom used to make these sausage balls for her parties; and yes, I think it was in the 70′s. I remember eating them as a kid.
Our recipe was simply:
2 c. bisquick
2 c. grated cheese
1 lb Jimmy Dean sausageOver the years, I’ve tried changing it up a little by using reduced fat sausage or reduced fat cheese, and they still turn out okay, but still best with the original recipe.
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