Tasty Sage Stuffing with Fresh Apples and Sausage
Great stuffing is easy to make. Sage sausage apple stuffing is full of flavor and goes great with a roasted turkey and grilled sweet potatoes.
In my household, stuffing is every bit as important as turkey and sweet potatoes, and it better be good. Here is an easy to make recipe that produces a very tasty and moist stuffing. This recipe was inspired by a recipe by the Food Network. I modified the recipe a bit for my tastes but the inspiration came from the Food Network.
To Stuff or Not to Stuff
When it comes to making stuffing to accompany a turkey, there are two kinds of people in this world. There are stuffers and there are non-stuffers, and the camp that you fall into probably has roots in your childhood. My mother would stuff the neck cavity of a turkey and carefully sew it shut. She would also make a pocket between the breast and the skin and load it up with stuffing as well, The one thing she never did was put stuffing inside the main cavity. She considered that area to be "grotesque" and suitable only for some quartered onion, maybe a cut up apple and a spear of rosemary.
When I started to cook turkey in my house, I decided to forego stuffing between the skin and breast because it altered the cooking time and made the turkey look like it had implants. I did stuff the neck cavity for many years until I noticed that none of kids would eat that stuffing. The always went for the extra stuffing in the casserole dish. Why? They thought it was gross. So I gave that up too and now only make stuffing in a casserole dish.
The one thing that I liked about stuffing the neck was that the cooked stuffing was always very moist. This stuffing is moist as well thanks to the apples. Give it a try!
Prepare the Breadcrumbs
Melt the stick of butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the water and chicken stock and stir, then pour the mixture over the dried bread cubes and stir to the mixture well evenly coat the bread cubes. Set it aside.
Sauté the Vegetables
Melt two tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and sauté the onions and celery until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, but don't let the garlic turn brown. Then add the pepper, sage, thyme and parsley and cook for another minute.
Finally, add the apples and cook for another minute, then remove from the heat and set aside.
Cook the Sausage
Next, heat the sausage in a frying pan until browned. Drain the sausage and add it and the sautéed vegetables to the bread cube mixture and stir to combine.
Put it All Together
Place the mixture in a 13 X 9 baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with oil. Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Enjoy!
Try These Favorite Recipes that Go Well with Sage Sausage Apple Stuffing
Watch how to Make Sage Sausage Apple Stuffing on YouTube
Sage Sausage Apple Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter plus 2 tbs
- 1 cup water
- 1 ½ cup chicken stock preferably low sodium
- 16 oz bread dried & cubed (out of a bag is fine)
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbs black pepper freshly grouind
- ¼ cup sage leaves fresh, chopped
- ¼ cup thyme fresh, chopped
- ¼ cup parsley fresh, chopped
- 1 apple cored and chopped
- ½ lb pork sausage ground
Instructions
- Melt the stick of butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the water and chicken stock and stir. Pour the mixture over the dried bread cubes and stir to evenly coat the bread cubes. Set aside.
- Melt two tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and sauté the onions and celery until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Don't let the garlic turn brown. Add the pepper, sage, thyme and parsley and cook for another minute. Add the apples and cook for another minute, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- Heat the sausage in a frying pan until browned. Drain the sausage and add it and the sautéed vegetables to the bread cube mixture and stir to combine.
- Place the mixture in a 13 X 9 baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with oil. Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Enjoy!
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