THE BEST STUFFING YOU WILL EVER EAT

MADELINE’S SAUSAGE STUFFING

Throughout the years at my family's Thanksgivings, we have changed up our menus to include many different dishes. We would try out new recipes for vegetables, sides dishes, and desserts, but the one constant dish that has never changed, no matter who was hosting and cooking Thanksgiving dinner, has been my mother’s sausage stuffing.  There has never been any thought or discussion about changing that recipe or using another stuffing recipe; like the saying goes, "If it's not broken, don't fix it."

Each and every person in my family has an opinion about everything, and each opinion is different, but the one thing that we all agree upon is that nothing beats my mother’s stuffing.  No matter what changed on the menu each year, her sausage stuffing was always on the menu and on the table. If it wasn’t then you had better have a good reason such as "my oven broke down," or "I couldn’t find any sausage." Those two excuses were just about the only ones that my family would ever accept, as that's how strongly we all feel about this stuffing.

Simply put, her stuffing is the best and everyone loves it.  She dosen’t do anything special with it or have any elaborate ingredients she puts into it, just the basics - carrots, onions, celery and of course the sausage.  Not any fancy kind of sausage either; she just uses regular Italian pork sausage (I think that is where all the flavor and taste come from).  It’s always a hit - that is, when she makes it, no matter who makes that stuffing, it’s never as good as my mother’s.

You could follow her recipe step by step, and ingredient for ingredient, but it never turns out as good as hers.  She always says it’s because of her secret ingredient, but we all know her secret ingredient is love, and that is the reason it turns out so well.  I think we have all resigned to the fact that she makes the best stuffing, and no matter whose house she is having Thanksgiving at, one thing is for sure: Madeline is bringing her sausage stuffing.

CORNBREAD STUFFING WITH SAUSAGE

INGREDIENTS:

2 POUNDS GROUND SAUSAGE

2 CUPS CHOPPED CELERY

1 CUP CHOPPED CARROT

2 LARGE ONIONS CHOPPED

ONE PACKAGE CORNBREAD STUFFING MIX OR

5 CUPS FRESH CRUMBLED UP

2 ¾ CUPS CHICKEN BROTH

1 ½ TEASPOONS POULTRY SEASONING

1 TEASPOON CRUMBLED UP SAGE

2 EGGS

DIRECTIONS

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.

PLACE SAUSAGE, CELERY, CARROTS AND ONIONS IN A LARGE, DEEP SKILLET, AND COOK OVER MEDIUM HIGH HEAT UNTIL EVENLY BROWNED.  DRAIN AND CRUMBLE SAUSAGE AND SET ASIDE.

IN A LARGE BOWL, COMBINE SAUSAGE MIXTURE WITH CORNBREAD, EGGS, CHICKEN BROTH, POULTRY SEASONING, AND SAGE.  MIX WELL AND TRANSFER TO A BAKING DISH.  MAKE SURE TO ADD ENOUGH CHICKEN STOCK SO THAT THE STUFFING WILL BE MOIST.

BAKE COVERED, FOR 45 MINUTES OR UNTIL WELL SET AND COOKED THROUGH.