All Growed Up: Granny's Sausage Bread

I promised all our friends that came to our little football party yesterday that I would share my granny's sausage bread recipe. (Let's pause for a second here and brag on our New Orleans Saints being undefeated at 8-0, whoopee!!) This is a special recipe in our family, so handle with care. We gonna do things a little different today, instead of me just listing the ingredients and a brief how to, you coming shopping with me. I love cooking, and I love talking about cooking so buckle up cause I got lots of pics for you.

Let's start with the most important ingredient for sausage bread: the bread. For years my grandparents had Schwan's delivery service and she would get this amazing dough to make the bread, but times are changing and we don't see Schwan's around this part of town much. So, in my best effort to not let this legacy die I went on a mission to find the next best thing to this miracle dough from Schwan's. And stop the press, we found a comparable ingredient in Bridgeford Ready-Dough. You can find it in the freezer section next to the frozen deserts at your favorite grocers (Alberston's). It comes in a pack of three, and yes we are making all three. Don't worry you don't have to eat all three in the same day. This is a great recipe for freezing, just wrap loaf in aluminum foil and you have super for a rainy day.

Anyway, once you find the ready-dough you are well on your way. Just set it out on the counter for a few hours to let it thaw out while you prepare the rest of the dish. Up next you will need 2 lbs of ground meat and 1 lb of pork sausage. With a mixture of onions, bell peppers and celery (I cheat sometimes and buy Guidry's creole onion mixture and mince half the container in a food processor - shhhh.)

Mix the ground meat, pork sasuage, minced onion mixture and simmer until the meat is brown. I have no idea how long this takes, just make sure the meat is cooked. This is the perfect time to add a little seasoning to your meat (shake the Tony's generously). I know raw meat does not look that appetizing but.....

Once the meat is browned, set it aside to cool.

Take out your knife cause its cuttin time. I use Velveeta cheese (because I am worth it) but you can use cheddar or a mixture of you favorite cheeses. Cut the cheese in cubes.

It's pepperoni time, and I always eat a few on the side!!! I like to cut my pepperoni in half. So go ahead and cut away.

Now that everything is prepped and ready it just a matter of putting it all together. Lay out three pieces of aluminum foil and spray with Pam, place the thawed bread on each piece of foil and flatten out. I spray my hands with the Pam to work with the bread cause it likes to stick to my hands. Once you have the bread ready, wash your greasy hands and start layering. First layer is the meat mixture, then a layer of pepperoni, then a layer of cheese.

After you finish layering your fat free, calorie free stuffing, pull the bread on each side over the stuffing and pinch the bread closed. Sorry I should have taken pics of this but my hands were preoccupied. Where is Britt when you need him? After your stuffing is completely encased in the bread, wrap the foil around bread. I made this recipe the night before the football party so I put 2 loaves in the refrigerator and let is rise over night. I put the third loaf in the freezer for when I lose 10 pounds or I get hungry for it again, which ever comes first.

So after the bread has risen all you have to do is bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and BAM (as Emeril says) you got homemade sausage bread!!! It's that easy, and no Craig you don't have to have soul in you to bake that good.