Veggie Egg Muffins with Turkey Patty

Ingredients

Egg Muffins:

• 1 cup lightly packed baby spinach chopped

• 3/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper (about 1 small pepper)

• 3/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper (about 1 small pepper)

• 3/4 cup quartered cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes, about 1 cup whole tomatoes)

• 6 large eggs

• 4 large egg whites

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil

• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

• Pinch ground black pepper (or cayenne pepper if you like a little kick!)
  

Turkey Patty:

• 2.2 pounds ground turkey (I use turkey thigh for the juiciest sausages)

• 1 egg

• 1 ½ tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper

• 1 tbsp garlic

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 1 tsp dried sage

Instructions

Egg Muffin Directions

1. Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a standard 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray. 

2. Divide the spinach, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and tomatoes among the cups (they will be about two-thirds of the way full).

3. In a large bowl or large measuring cup with a spout (my favorite because it makes the mixture easy to pour), briskly whisk together the eggs, egg whites, salt, basil, oregano, and pepper until well combined. Carefully fill each muffin cup three-quarters of the way to the top with the egg mixture. Sprinkle the feta evenly over the tops of the cups.

4. Bake for 24 to 28 minutes, until the egg muffins are set. Let cool for a few minutes, and then run a butter knife around the edges of each muffin to loosen it. Remove them from the pan and enjoy immediately, or let cool on a wire rack and refrigerate or freeze for later (see notes for more details).

MAKE THE TURKEY SAUSAGE MEAT

1. In a large bowl, mix everything together. The best way is to use your hands and really mix it all together (I sometimes even wear food gloves for this step).

SHAPE THE SAUSAGE PATTIES

1. There are a few different ways you can do this. You can just divide the meat into 12 rough balls, and shape each ball into a sausage patty. Lastly, you can also roll out the meat between parchment paper, then cut the sausages with a round cookie cutter/lip of a cup. 

2. Make 12 equal-sized turkey sausages. I make them about ½-inch thick if I am going to cook them straight away, but you can make them according to your preference.

3. If you are going to freeze half the batch, make the ones you are going to freeze no thicker than ½-inch, if you plan on cooking from frozen. Otherwise, you will need to defrost the sausage patties before cooking. 

COOK THE TURKEY SAUSAGE PATTIES

1. Heat some oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the patties (you might need to do it in batches) and cook the first side for about 3-4 minutes, or until browned. Flip then cook the other side until browned and the sausage is cooked through.

2. If you are cooking from frozen, follow the same instructions, but you will need to slightly increase the cooking time. If the sausages are browned but not cooked through, turn the heat down and finish cooking. 

Lastly… plate everything and bon apétit!