Dawn's Sausage and Herb Stuffing

Another favorite from any holiday hosted at Brian and Dawn's. We have made this every holiday since 2013? for our little Nelk family.

Source: Dawn Cook

Ingredients:

1 large french bread loaf, cut into cubes and dried out. I use my french loaf recipe here and add sage, thyme, and a little extra salt to my dough :)

1/2 C butter

1 C onion, diced

1 C celery, diced

2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced (optional-Dawn does not use apples)

2 Tbsp parsley

1 Tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp pepper

1 lb Jimmy Dean sausage (I have used sage and maple)

1-2 C chicken broth

1 C fresh cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 deg

2. Brown sausage in a large pot. Remove from pot

3. Using the same pot, melt butter and sauté veges until translucent. Add in seasonings

4. Add bread crumbs into butter mixture and toss to coat. Add in sausage and cranberries and incorporate

5. Add in broth until all is coated. Use closer to 2 C if you like a softer dressing and 1 C if you like a crunchier texture to your dressing

6. Grease a 9x13 pan and pour in stuffing mixture

7. Bake for 30-45 minutes until browned on the top

Tips: This can be prepared the evening before and refrigerate overnight