Turkey Sausage Stuffing

Stuffing is one of those foods that I look forward to on Thanksgiving. Since it’s my favorite dish and since I’ve been told in the past I make a pretty mean stuffing … I was tasked with making the dish again this year.  In years past I’ve used boxed stuffing (just the plain dried bread pieces) and I’ve also used homemade cornbread, etc. My personal favorite has been the cornbread turkey stuffing, but since my mother isn’t a huge fan of it … I decided to try a different route this year to make all happy.

The stuffing turned out quite well. It was delicious, meaty, filled with delicious filling and spiced just perfectly. As mentioned previously I’d have loved it a whole lot more if it were a cornbread variety … but maybe next time!

12 servings. 4 Points Plus Values. ½ cup serving.

Ingredients:

• 17 slices Light Italian bread (I used Market Basket store brand), dried
• 16 oz Jennie-O Turkey Breakfast Sausage
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 tbsp Smart Balance Light Butter
• 4 cups fat free chicken broth
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ¾ tsp salt
• 7 tsp salt free Bell’s Seasoning (I enjoy a bold stuffing flavor, feel free to cut this into 1/3’s and taste testing to your liking)

The day before set the bread out to dry, making sure to flip each slice over halfway through the drying cycle. You can speed this process up by putting it into the oven to dry up – but be careful as it can burn.  I found a good 12-hours and it was perfectly dry.

Cut dried bread into smaller cubes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large non-stick skillet, over medium-high heat melt the butter. Once melted add in the chopped onions and celery. Stirring frequently, cook until the onions and celery are translucent. Transfer cooked mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Using the same skillet, cook the turkey breakfast sausage over medium high heat. Break up sausage into bite sized pieces as the meat cooks.  The sausage will release some liquid; make sure to drain the liquid off to help get some searing on the sausage bits.

Add the onion and celery mixture back into the pan, toss to combine. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper and half the Bell’s seasoning. Stir to combine, then begin adding in large handfuls of the dried bread pieces - incorporating with the meat and vegetable mixture.

In ½ cup measurements, pour the liquid over the stuffing mixture and stir to combine until all ingredients are incorporated.

Sprinkle with remaining Bell’s seasoning, stirring to combine.

Transfer stuffing mixture to a non-stick casserole dish. Bake until the top is crisped – roughly 20-25 minutes.