Yummmm…stuffing!  Call me crazy but, if I had to choose just ONE carb-y dish for Thanksgiving dinner, it wouldn’t be pie, or rolls, or potatoes.  It would be stuffing!

This recipe fits well within our healthy but oh-so-yummy POV since it is made with chicken sausage (low in fat) and is loaded with lots of veggies.  Feel free to make this to your family’s preferences:  change up the sausage (spicy is great!), substitute different veggies, season with other varieties of herbs.  This can be made with your favorite cornbread: whether gluten-free or traditional, from scratch or a boxed mix, or even a bag of cubes you purchase.  I would love to hear how you switched it up to please your loved ones!  Enjoy!

Cornbread Stuffing with Sausage and Veggies

ingredients:

1 batch of your favorite cornbread (I used a GF mix)

coconut or olive oil
1 onion, cut into a small dice
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1 fennel bulb, chopped into small pieces
sea salt, freshly ground pepper
1# uncooked sausage, (I used chicken sausage)
2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon each dried thyme, rosemary, sage
1 large apple, cubed
1 cup dried cranberries
3 to 4 cups chicken broth/stock

directions :

• first thing you need to do is make a batch of cornbread.  you can make this a day or two before.  after removing from baking pan, cool thoroughly, wrap loosely, and store in a cool, dry place.
• when ready to prepare the stuffing, cut up the cornbread into small-ish cubes and place on a rimmed baking sheet. bake at 250-275 for 30 minutes or so ‘til the cubes are getting crispy and drying out. pour into a very large bowl and set aside
• heat the oil in a large saute pan, over medium heat, warm the oil
  then add the onions and celery and fennel; season well with s&p and cook until the vegetables start to become soft
• push to the edges of the pan and add the sausage into the middle; cook ‘til the sausage begins to brown
• add in the garlic, herbs, and apples; stir all together for a minute or so; remove from heat
• increase oven temp to 375
• into the bowl holding the cornbread, add the cranberries along with the cooked sausage/veggie mixture and stir together
• pour 2 cups of the chicken broth evenly over the whole bowl; knead together with your hands (adding additional broth ‘til the bread is very moist but not mushy)
• taste to check for seasoning, adding additional s&p if needed
  transfer to a large ovenproof dish/casserole and cover with foil
• bake the stuffing until it is hot all the way through about 30 minutes.
• if your family likes some crispy bits, too, remove foil and increase oven temp to 425; bake for additional 10 minutes

♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥ 

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥  coleen