Breakfast for the Health-Challenged: Scrapple That Won't Gross You Out

We spent last week at my parents' cottage up north, in a teeny little cabin with a teeny little kitchen. It's right on a lake and there is really nothing quite like sitting in the early-morning quiet, sipping a cup of coffee and watching the sun rise while the kids sleep off the previous day's epic playground session. I love mornings like that. They always make me think that the maid will be around shortly with my breakfast tray. 

Alas, this is my *actual* life, so breakfast was up to me. Breakfast is the hardest meal of the day in our gluten-free, dairy-free, nightshade-free house - no toast, no pancakes, no waffles, no hash brown, no tomatoes, no cheese, no milk.....it's a bummer. I usually end up eating leftovers from dinner sometime mid-morning (though I'll eat any breakfast that's put in front of me. I just don't want to go through the effort of producing it). 

I vaguely recalled reading a recipe for scrapple some time ago and thinking it sounded tasty. In doing a spot of research for this blog, I looked up scrapple and was promptly grossed out (seriously, don't look at the Wikipedia entry. Eeew. I assure you, I would not serve hog offal under even the most post-apocalyptic circumstances). 

There are a few more-complicated versions of this that I'd be happy to try some weekend when I have a full-size kitchen to play around in; for the time being, this is my Cheater's Scrapple, which takes an absolute minimum of time and attention in the morning and makes my kids think I'm a breakfast superhero. I think there are some variations on this particular theme coming up - maybe some chopped sauteed onions, or a bit of cheese, or polenta in place of grits. 

Cheater's Scrapple

1 cup quick-cooking grits

3 cups water

1/2 lb. good-quality bulk breakfast sausage 

Salt and pepper

Olive oil (for frying)

Maple syrup (optional, for serving) 

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan and stir in the grits. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn't get lumpy. Brown 1/2 lb. good-quality pork breakfast sausage in a skillet. 

Combine the cooked grits and the sausage, season with salt and pepper, and pour into a loaf pan. Refrigerate overnight. 

In the morning, cut the loaf into 1/2-inch thick slices and fry in olive oil until lightly browned and crispy (this is also good cooked in bacon fat). Fantastic served with a drizzle of maple syrup, and also very tasty with a poached egg on top.