I am doing another round of Whole30, this round I am doing with some friends. Well, we are spread all over the place, but we are doing it together. It is really fun to be able to share with the others.
This is not my first Whole30, nor my first January Whole30. One thing that I have noticed with Whole30, is that there are THOUSANDS of recipes. Of those thousands of recipes, most of them call for some random hard to find, unicorn ingredient.
SERIOUSLY!?! Isn’t Whole30 about eating real food, and making real food accessible to busy people? So why does your recipe call for salt mined by virgin unicorn breeders?
This has been something that has been frustrating for me. I find a recipe, it sound delicious, but it calls for some ingredient, that I can not find or is only available at speciality places. I am not one to order or drive hours away to get the one ingredient. So I just don’t make the recipe.
When I am not Whole30-ing, I will play with the recipe, maybe use a similar, yet not compliant ingredient in place of the specialty. One of these experiments lead me to make my own complaint substitute. AND IT IS DELISH!
I really enjoy spicy foods, so this pork sausage has a bit of a kick (I think it could use more, but Mr. Wonderful says it is hot enough). It is great for Italian dishes or with just some sauted zucchini or carrots. Plus, since ground pork is cheaper than pre-made sausages, it is cheaper! So save a little and try this!
Note: I use a mortar and pestle to grind up the fennel seeds. Mr. Wonderful does not like fennel, but if I grind it up, he doesn’t notice it. You can leave it whole if you wish.
- 2 lbs ground pork
- Spice Mix:
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning (OR ½ tsp basil, ½ tsp oregano)
- 2 tsp Fennel seeds, crushed
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp parsley
- In a small bowl, stir together the spice mix.
- In a large mixing bowl sprinkle over the spice mixer and mix until well combined.
- Divide into 1 pound portions, use or freeze.
- To brown: Over medium heat cook, using the back of a spoon to break up. Cook until no pink remains.