No Fuss Sausage, Sage, and Cornbread Stuffing

by Lizzy W   |   November 24, 2015   |   5 Comments

There is no holiday that compares to Thanksgiving in my mind. Family, food, friends, no work, and time to catch up and be together with no expectations other than good food and catching up, it just doesn’t get any better than that.  Everyone has different traditions, whether it is sitting down to a big family dinner, cooking with friends and combining families, or casual turkey day lunches while watching football on the lazy boy at your grandmas house – whatever it is, it’s your tradition and that’s what makes it special!

Every year since I can remember, my mom takes me to Louisiana to spend the day with our family.  It’s a pretty small town, dirt roads, fields as far as you can see, satsuma trees surrounding houses, kids running around playing with sticks and pretend swords, and it’s my Thanksgiving.  As soon as we pull up, I see all my little cousins running around the yard playing, I smell the turkey deep-frying on the porch as my mouth immediately starts to water, and I am ready for the Thanksgiving brunch that always puts me into the best food coma of the year.  I love my family’s tradition of serving Thanksgiving supper, followed by second helpings around 5, and then the casino in Lake Charles to have some fun after.

Because we drive up the morning of Thanksgiving to Louisiana, we don’t really do the cooking. Stuffing has always been one of my favorite  foods to eat on Thanksgiving, and since I never get to make it, I thought I would give it a go this week… and oh my gosh it came out so good.

Since my mom wasn’t at my house, and since I didn’t have the proper gizzards to make her stuffing, I turned to my good friend, Julia Child (she is in my pantry whenever I need her, and didn’t fail to let me down this time). I followed and changed her recipe a bit, but her cornbread stuffing is to die for.  If you are looking to change up the usual stuffing recipe you use or, you are just trusting me that this is the one to make this year, you are making the right choice :).

Who doesn’t love Julia? All my friends out there that are stressing about making Thanksgiving dinner this week, just do as Julia does! – “With enough butter, anything is good.”

What are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions? Do you usually have dinner or lunch? Do you eat with your friends, family, or both? Share your stories in the comments below!!!

Recipe adapted slightly from Julia Child.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Sausage, Sage, and Cornbread Stuffing

 

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Ingredients

• 1 package of jiffy cornbread, cooked to box instructions
• 1 lb sausage meat (I used mild Italian sausage)
• 2 cups onion, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 3 cups white bread shredded (I tear pieces of bread up and press into measuring cup)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp. dried sage
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• ½ cup turkey gravy if you have it, if not omit
• salt and pepper, to taste
• grapeseed oil

Instructions

1. Once cornbread has been cooked, set aside. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large saute pan, heat grapeseed oil and saute sausage. Cook for about 5 min. or until browned, and set aside meat, leaving the fat in the pan. Saute the onions in the fat - you may need to add a touch more oil. Cook for about 5 minutes, until they begin to turn translucent, and then add in the celery. Cook for another 3 minutes, season with salt and pepper, and then turn off heat. (I had brisket fat leftover in my fridge, so I used this to flavor and cook the onions in... if you have a flavorful fat like that it is great to cook with).
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, season again with salt and pepper, and then place in a pyrex baking dish. Don't season too heavily with salt as the sausage already has some. Cover with foil, and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
4. Enjoy!

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