Jimmy Dean Sausage Cheese Balls

By Addie

I had these at a gathering and loved them. The hostess gave me the recipe but had mixed up the amounts. (I hate when people do that purposely so they're the only ones who can make it right!) Well, I found the correct recipe on the Jimmy Dean website. These are also great for a breakfast gathering.

Ingredients

• # 2 16-oz pkg Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage
• # 1-1/2 cups all-purpose baking mix
• # 4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• # 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• # 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• # 2 teaspoons black pepper
• # 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
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• Note: Buy "original" flavor sausage.
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Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir well. Form into 1" balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet; bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Serve with cocktail forks or toothpicks. Servings: 6-9 Dozen


Note:
May be prepared ahead and frozen uncooked (Don't do what I did and toss them all into a large zip lock bag. Its almost impossible to defrost a wad of sausage balls! LOL).

To bake from frozen: thaw on baking sheet 15 minutes; bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Variation: for firmer texture, add 3 cups baking mix and 2 cups shredded cheese to the ingredients listed above.