Thanksgiving Recipe Week: In-laws Sausage Stuffing

Check back for a daily dose of Thanksgiving recipes all this week - it's a digital feast at the Cheap$kate Chateau!

Thanksgiving at his in-laws; a meal the Chef looks forward to every year.

My in-laws make a great Thanksgiving bread stuffing using breakfast sausage links, and the Chef is not one to fool with perfection, however I can't help but tinker with the recipe a little bit.

Cornbread stuffing is a Southern tradition so I merged the two and created my version of In-laws Thanksgiving Sausage Link Stuffing. Other extra additions include a few aromatics and fresh garden herbs.


Thanksgiving is all about "gobbling" up food sales (whole turkey is 59 cents a pound here; and go here for the L.A. Times newspaper's turkey carving and easy dry-brined turkey recipe video.) So now is the time to hit your local market and stock up on ham, turkey and a few packages of your favorite stuffing.

The Chef has run across a few different types at local 99c only Stores, including dried cranberry, a new favorite. The cranberries reconstitute mixed into moistened breadcrumbs when stuffed into a bird and are a sweet/tart contrast. To keep the in-laws happy, I'll leave out cranberries this time.



Ingredients (feeds 2-3)
8 oz. package cornbread stuffing mix follow package directions.
8 oz. package breakfast link sausage - Farmer John brand is a favorite.
1 cup each of chopped bell pepper, celery and onions.
1 tablespoon chopped garlic from jar or fresh.
1 tablespoon each fresh chopped parsley, sage and/or oregano (1 teaspoon total if dried.)
1 toasted bread slice (makes for a less crumbly stuffing.)
Water and butter per cornbread stuffing mix directions.
Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions
Saute and break-up sausage links, then pour out most of the rendered grease. Add veggies and saute until soft, about 5-10 minutes. 

Prepare stuffing according to package directions. Mix prepared stuffing, toast, sausage and sauteed veggies in a large bowl. Stuff your bird and put extra stuffing in a bread loaf type baking dish. 

Bake extra stuffing during last 45 minutes of roasting the bird. A tasty trick is to pour half a cup of turkey pan juices into the "extra stuffing" just before it goes in the oven.