Paleo Sausage and Egg Muffins with Collard Greens and Ricotta Cheese
By: Sheri Wetherell
Published: December 2, 2017

After a hard workout at the gym I need something to satiate me and help my sore muscles recover. What I don’t want is to load up on carbs (sorry, oats, I love you, but…), which just catapult me into Carb Coma land. What keeps me going until lunch time are these hearty little egg muffins. I use Isernio’s Chicken Breakfast Sausage as they use only natural ingredients and are gluten free, but any sausage is fine, just make sure it’s a quality one and not filled with unrecognizable ingredients.
	I also like to use collard greens as it holds together nicely in the oven and doesn’t “sweat” as much as spinach does. It also has a lovely natural sweetness to it that spinach and kale lack. Plus, it’s loaded in fiber, protein, calcium and iron. And, a 1-cup serving provides us women with our daily requirement of Vitamin A (men, you need to eat about 1/4 cup more to reach your RDA), and well more than our daily requirement for Vitamin K (necessary for healthy bones and calcium absorption). I haven’t given up on spinach or kale, but collards are definitely my new go-to power green!
	Whip up a dozen of these easy egg muffins to have as a quick grab-and-go breakfast all week long!

 Paleo Sausage and Egg Muffins with Collard Greens and Ricotta Cheese
Makes 12 muffins
Note: if you're not on a Paleo or Keto diet and are looking for a lower in fat breakfast, simply use a lean sausage and low-fat ricotta. You can even use egg whites in lieu of the whole egg. 
	1 pound breakfast sausage, your choice, turkey, chicken, pork (I used chicken), browned
	1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil, ghee, or fat of your choice
	9 pasture-raised eggs
	1 1/2-2 cups collard greens (or greens of your choice) finely chopped
	1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese)
	Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
	Olive oil spray
	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
	Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high. Remove sausage from casing and brown, breaking up into smaller pieces with a spatula, until the meat is nicely crisped and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add about 2 tablespoons of water to deglaze the pan - you don’t want to leave all that flavor in the pan! Scrap the bottom of the pan until all the browned bits have come loose and the liquid has evaporated, about 2-3 minutes.
	While the sausage is browning, beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the chopped greens, ricotta cheese, sausage, salt and pepper and stir until well combined.
	Spray a muffin tin with olive oil and pour in sausage mixture until it reaches just below the rim (they will poof up in the oven).

	Bake in the oven for 20-23 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
	Enjoy immediately or let the muffins cool then store in the refrigerator (for up to 5 days) or freezer.