Egg Muffins with Chicken Sausage and Vegetables

2 tsp oil or fat of your choice (I used bacon grease rendered from nitrate-free bacon)

3/4 lb chicken breakfast sausage, casings removed (can use turkey or pork, however if you substitute with pork sausage, omit the cooking oil)

1/4 tsp dried sage

1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced

6 green onions, sliced thinly

5 oz frozen spinach, thawed

6 eggs, beaten

salt, to taste, depending on the saltiness of the sausage, and pepper, to taste

1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet.

2. Add the chicken sausage and cook until opaque. If the pan has a lot of oil in it, drain the excess oil, then add the sage, bell pepper, and green onion. Cook until the vegetables are tender, being sure that any excess vegetable liquid that accumulates is allowed to steam away, otherwise the muffins will be soggy.

3. Meanwhile, place the spinach in a clean kitchen towel and drain away any excess moisture. Transfer it to a cutting board and chop it into smaller pieces to ensure it will mix homogeneously into the meat mixture. Stir it into the cooked meat and vegetables. At this point you can cool the mixture and then refrigerate it to use in the morning, or place the cooled meat and vegetable mixture into a bowl. If you make these in the morning using cold sausage mixture, wait until morning to add the eggs. If you are making these directly after cooking the sausage mixture, add the slightly cooled sausage/vegetable mixture to the eggs and mix thoroughly.

4. Divide the mixture evenly amongst 12 3" muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees F for 20-22 min or until the eggs are set all the way through.