Isanti County Historical Society

The Taste of Home Cooking Show is coming to Cambridge Saturday, March 5. Here's a recipe for Christmas morning.

Sausage-Potato Bake Recipe

I not only make this dish for breakfast, but sometimes for a main meal. It's very good. You can substitute finely diced lean ham or crumbled turkey bacon for the sausage for a change of pace.

6 Servings
Prep: 20 min. Bake: 55 min. + standing
Ingredients
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 jar (2 ounces) diced pimientos, drained
3 eggs
1 cup 2% milk
2 tablespoons minced chives
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
Additional minced chives, optional
Directions
In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
Arrange half of the potatoes in a greased 8-in. square baking dish; sprinkle with salt, pepper and half of the sausage. Top with remaining potatoes and sausage; sprinkle with pimientos. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, chives and thyme; pour over the top.
Cover and bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Sprinkle with additional chives if desired. Yield: 6 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving equals 202 calories, 11 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 124 mg cholesterol, 407 mg sodium, 18 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 9 g protein.
Sausage-Potato Bake published in Country Extra March 2008, p51

by Jack Puterbaugh
We are in the midst of the 2010 Yuletide Season.

It is a time of year most everyone looks forward to, since it is a time for families to get together to celebrate an important religious holiday.

Those of us who attended one-room schools probably have special memories of this time of the year. This is the time of year when one-room school students put on the annual Christmas program. The program was attended, not only by parents of the students, but also by friends and neighbors from the community.

In the one-room school I attended, District 17, a portable stage was constructed in the front of the room. There was a curtain that parted in the middle that was opened and closed by two students pulling it back and forth. The students had diligently rehearsed the skits, songs and other numbers that were on the program, and all of the numbers were enthusiastically received by the audience. It should be noted the age of the performers ranged from six to 14, and the program reflected that age spread.

One year I memorized the well-known “Twas the Night Before Christmas” poem that was written be Clement Moore on Christmas Eve in 1822. Even today, whenever I hear that poem, I’m reminded of that time long ago when I recited it from memory.

When the program ended and the applause had died, all of the student performers were treated to a bag of candy and an apple courtesy of the school board. The people who had come to listen to the student performers had a chance to visit over a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. The evening was really a chance for the community to get together and share in an event that involved the students of the community.  

Does that same sense of community exist today? Anyway, this is to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and may it be a most enjoyable and meaningful time of year.