Sausage and Cheese Muffins

I developed this recipe a few weeks before Christmas to see if they would turn out, and they did.  So, I presented them on Christmas morning for my family, including my parents, to enjoy.  They are hearty and a tasty way to start the day.

Just a note: You'll see that I'll be using flax seed thickener, instead of EggReplacer, in my savory dishes.  Just trying to incorporate more flax in our diet.

Sausage and Cheese Muffins
Ingredients:
1 Tbs. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped small
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1 pkg. Gimme Lean sausage style, diced small
1 pkg. Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet cheese, cheddar style, shredded finely and divided
2 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. flax seed meal
3 Tbs. water
1 and 1/2 cups plain rice milk
Non-stick spray
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic and green onion, and saute for one minute.  Add the diced sausage to the pan, and cook for five minutes, until it has browned.  Stir occasionally.  Add half of the cheese to the sausage mixture and stir until it has softened and blended in, about one minute.  Set aside to cool while you work with the rest of the ingredients.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  In a small pot, mix together the flax seed meal with the water.  Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thickened, about a minute or two.  Add this, along with the rice milk, to the flour mixture.  Using a hand mixer, blend on medium low speed until incorporated.  Add the sausage mixture, and stir well with a spoon.  Spray a cupcake pan's wells with the non-stick spray.  Fill wells to the top with batter.  Top with the remaining cheese.  Bake for 40 minutes.  An inserted toothpick will not come out clean because of the cheese and sausage inside the muffin, but after 40 minutes, they will be done.  Makes one dozen muffins.  These freeze great, as well, if you want to double the recipe.  Feeds five hungry vegans.