Butternut Breakfast Bites~

As most of you know, I have been eating gluten free for several years now.  But more recently, I have been trying to eat dairy free and egg free as well.  My youngest is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, peanut free, and for a short time also on a yeast free diet.  I know the first thing that comes to mind is, "what CAN that poor child eat?  We are learning to experiment and try new things.  Something we always loved for breakfast around the holidays, or sometimes for apps, are sausage balls.  Most are traditionally made using flour (which we can sub gluten free for, or gluten free Bisquick) and cheddar cheese (which would could sub dairy free).  But, even gluten free flour has yeast in it.

As per usual, I was searching on Pinterest for new recipes that would work for her diet and mine when I stumbled upon a recipe for Butternut Breakfast Bites.  No flour, no cheese!!

Butternut Breakfast Bites

Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients:

1 lb ground lamb (or pork or beef)  *I chose pork this time around.
1 C cooked butternut squash-mashed (Trader Joes has it already cut up ready to microwave)
10 mint leaves (if using lamb) or coriander/cilantro (with beef or pork)-finely chopped
3 TBS fresh parsley-finely chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F/200C
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well with your hands until spices and butternut squash are thoroughly mixed through the meat.
Using a small cookie scoop, or your hands, roll mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls and place into mini muffin tins.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on the edges and meat is no longer pink in the middle. (I ended up cooking for approx. 30 minutes-will depend on oven and pan you are using).

Hubby tried the first one hot out of the oven and declared, "these won't last long."  Hmmm...might need to stash a few with my Pumpkin Spice Almonds.