Masking an ingredient I hate (sausage cheese tartlets)

I really don't like olives, black or green. So briny. My taste buds are getting more and more used to pickled briny things, but I still can't stand olives or pickles. So why do we see olives in this recipe? Because they add to the salty deliciousnessness of these sausage cheese tartlets that make them irresistible.

I got this recipe from my friend Chelsea, who got it from her momma, who lived in Mississippi at the time by way of Iowa. Chelsea's parents used to have an amazing house in Mississippi that we would weekend at. One of the garages was converted into a private in-home movie theater. We had a Harry Potter marathon one time in celebration of me finishing the book series before the last movie came out! We would be lazy and have monochromatic meals , make your own breakfast burrito bars and Pammie Sue's noodles, which are basically homemade egg noodles cooked in chicken broth. It was heavenly. So comforting and relaxing.

You will probably end up with more filing that you need for 45, you can probably even make 60. I usually freeze the leftover filling for a rainy day when I need an appetizer in a pinch. This is also yummy stuffed in a chicken thigh or breast or even a pork chop. These are always a hit and they are so different! The original recipe calls for breakfast sausage, which I usually use, but decided to switch it up and use fresh Cajun sausage. It was just as good, so really any fresh (well the breakfast kind is sometimes frozen) sausage will do. Please enjoy the montage and the full recipe will follow. Linking up with the crew from Meal Plan Monday, check out all the great recipes!

The red bell pepper was chopped before I snapped the pic.  I usually get Hidden Valley Ranch, but the store brand was 49 cents! Why the heck not!

I squeezed it all out of the casings.  It was an odd task.

Fry it on up.

Ugh look at all that fat, gross!

Take your sausage and put it in a bowl

Add ranch mix

Olives

Red bell pepper

And cheese, glorious cheese!

Mix it all up good.

I had some about ready for the compost bin green onions so I decided to throw those in.

I think they add some nice color.

These things are so great.  I need to try out some more methods with them.

This was to show you what size spoon I was using.

Fill em up and get them ready for the oven

Yummy Yummy

Sausage cheese tartlets: (makes 45 with leftover filling)

Ingredients:

1 small can of chopped black olives
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 packet ranch dressing mix
dashes of tabasco to your liking
1 pack of fresh sausage (italian, cajun or breakfast, you know the crumbly kind)
1 bag of colby/monterey jack cheese
mini phyllo shells (3 packs)

Brown sausage. Drain fat and pour in large bowl. Combine rest of ingredients with sausage(you might not need all of the cheese, eyeball it). Put spoonful of mixture in phyllo shells. Place on baking sheet and bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Happy Cooking!

Missy