Sausage and Apple Stuffing

I just said goodbye to the last of my Thanksgiving guests and cleaned up as much as I am going to tonight. My mother and my sister were extremely helpful today. I want to thank them for everything they did and everything they brought. Also, my nephew and his wife brought two huge hams which were delicious. We had way too much food but that is what Thanksgiving is all about, right?!

I wanted to post this stuffing recipe as soon as I could because the recipe I made last year was somehow lost in the shuffle. It is probably in a drawer somewhere but I could not locate it so I googled apple sausage corn bread stuffing and found this really great one on the Food Network website. It was a big hit today. Try this stuffing next time you need to make some, you won't be disappointed. I didn't use the walnuts when I made it. I used 4 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix instead of the dried cornbread stuffing mix. I baked them in two 8 x 8 pans.

Sausage and Apple Stuffing
Recipe courtesy Food Network Kitchens
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:

2 sticks plus 3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 cups water
2 (14 to 16-ounce) bags of your favorite dried cornbread stuffing mix, recommended: Arnold's
1 pound pork sausage (not links)
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 medium apples, cored, sliced
2 to 3 cups homemade giblet stock or low sodium canned chicken broth

Directions:

In a large pot melt 2 sticks butter in water. When melted add dry cornbread stuffing stirring to incorporate liquid, set aside.

In a large saute pan set over medium-high heat melt 1 tablespoon butter and add sausage. With a wooden spoon break up sausage and saute until lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer sausage to paper towels to drain. In the same pan melt remaining butter and saute onions with the garlic, celery, thyme, and sage until onions are translucent and celery is crisp tender. Add walnuts and saute for 1 minute. Add apples and saute for one minute more. Remove from heat. Combine cornbread stuffing with sausage and sauteed ingredients and stuff turkey. Roast turkey as usual.

Alternatively: fill a 10 by 15 by 2 inch pan with the stuffing, moisten with the giblet stock, and bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven, covered with foil for 1/2 hour. Remove foil and bake until top is lightly browned, about 15 minutes more.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook