Sunday, November 18, 2007

Sausage and cornbread stuffing


Photo courtesy of : BHG.com
As promised I am posting my husbands Sausage and cornbread stuffing although it should be called, sausage, pecan, cornbread, dried fruit, incredible yummy stuffing! It's his own recipe, he does Thanksgiving every year, I just clean the house & decorate (yeah, how blessed am I?) and, just like most good cooks, he doesn't have a recipe written down. You can
put in whatever dried fruit you like or have on hand, it will still be great. I like this because it has that slightly salty/sweet combination with the cornbread, sausage and fruit giving you so many flavors. It has a drier texture than the lumpy white bread stuffing, but it is still moist and flavorful. So if you think you want to try this and have any questions email me, all comments go to my email too. I will be checking Thanksgiving morning. This really is easy and I love it!

Cornbread Stuffing for Turkey

Ingredients:
2 boxes Jiffy (or your favorite brand) Corn Muffin Mix, prepared as loaves of cornbread
1 Lb. Pork Sausage (plain, sage, or your preference)
½-1 Lb. Onions, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1-2 Cups Pecans, toasted
1-2 Cups Dried Fruit (Apricots, Cranberries, Raisins, Apples, Peaches, Cherries or a mixture—avoid tropical fruits)
2-3 Fresh Apples (any good cooking variety will do)
3 Eggs
1-2 Cups Chicken Broth or homemade stock
½ Stick Butter, melted
Sage and Thyme to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Tuesday or Wednesday
Prepare the cornbread. When cool enough to handle, break the loaves into rough chunks and let stand until Thursday morning. Brown the sausage thoroughly. Drain, reserving fat. Crumble finely. Refrigerate both until Thursday morning.

Thursday Morning
Dice Onion and celery. Cook over medium heat in reserved sausage fat until softened and somewhat caramelized. While onions cook, peel core and chop the apples. Chop any larger dried fruits into uniform small pieces. Toast the pecans in a 375*F oven on a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes, stirring a few times to avoid burning. When nuts are cool, crumble them coarsely in your hands. You’re looking for crunchy little nut fragments, not dust. Crumble the cornbread into small pieces (about ½”-1”).

In a large bowl, mix the cornbread, sausage, dried fruits, caramelized onions, and pecans. Add sage and thyme to taste. Grind some black pepper over the mixture, and add a little salt if you feel it needs it. Use your hands to blend the ingredients, looking for a uniform appearance. Drizzle the chicken broth and melted butter over everything and remix. Taste a small amount of the stuffing and correct the seasoning to your preference. Scramble the eggs and pour them over everything, blending them in well. Don’t taste the stuffing once the eggs are added.

With a large scoop or spoon, place the stuffing into the cavity, packing it in very lightly. You can stuff the neck cavity, if desired. If you have extra stuffing, spoon it into a buttered baking dish and set it in the oven the last hour or two of turkey roasting time (the time it takes to bake the extra stuffing will depend on how much there is—look for a nicely browned crust on top when done). Roast the turkey according to cookbook or package directions, making sure to follow the timetable for stuffed birds. Basting the stuffing in the baking dish with a bit of the turkey drippings during roasting will help its flavor and moistness.

Note: I’m stuffing a 20 lb. bird with this recipe. If yours is smaller, adjust the proportions accordingly (unless you’re a real stuffing fiend).
I am thankful for the love of God that surrounds me and goes with me every day:>)

14 comments:

  1. Great stuffing recipe very similar to mine. Denise

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  2. You ARE so blessed. What a great guy. We are still in the phase of having to visit 2 sets of parents on every holiday. The upside is that I don't have to cook much. Mom and I split the cooking for her house and I don't have to do anything at the in-laws house. So we're both blessed =) -Polly

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  3. Hi Kathy, what a lovely hubby you have :) This recipe sounds so deliciious, I have saved it in My Recipe folder and you know what, we are going to try is on Christmas lunch for our turkey!! My Pa is always on the lookout for new flavours and this sounds soo good! Thanks for sharing :) Jenn and Jacqui

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  4. Sounds like we have some mighty great husbands! LOL!

    The recipe sounds delish, I am going to copy it and maybe even make it this year! I guess I better start thinking about the food instead of house projects (for my husband to do!) LOL!

    Thanks for sharing!

    Melissa

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  5. The Recipe sounds so delish Kathy :) Thank You for sharing it. The Dried is such a great ingredient. Hope You have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Sounds like you have so many blessings in your life :)

    Angie

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  6. Yum yum! Maybe even a little bit healthy as well!
    Kathy...two of my boys made professions of faith yesterday :) Such a surprise!

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  7. That stuffing sounds so scrumptious but alas..there are only a few people in our family that would even try it so maybe I'll just make a very small recipe of it for the few of us at Christmas.
    What a helpful husband you have!

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  8. You lucky lady! I usually make bacon apple cornbread stuffing but your hubby's sounds sooo delish. I really like all the dried fruit.

    Manuela

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  9. What a sweet hubby, his recipe sound delish. It's nice you can have a side dish too. Thank you for sharing.Linda

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  10. Sounds yummy... what a great hubby. Happy Thanksgiving.

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  11. Kathy, this is not as good as being there, but will have to settle for it. Thanks, as usual, for sharing! Have a wonderful day and I know you never forget to count your blessings. Most of us cannot fit them all on one page! LAS

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  12. Oh, I can almost taste it now! Thanks for the yummy recipe.

    Hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful:)

    Rhonda

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  13. Hi Kathy, My husband usually makes the stuffing, too! I've missed a couple of your posts -- love your thrift store silver, and that pumpkin pie looks scrumtious! Hpe you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
    xoxo,
    Mary

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  14. This looks great. Even though I am full now, I could still eat it!
    Jen R

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Thank you for taking the time to say hello :)