Sausage and Herb Stuffing Recipe

I never really liked stuffing as part of a holiday meal growing up.  Didn't matter to me whether or not is was on the table or not.  And then I had my first holiday meal at my now inlaw's house.  My mother in law makes delicious stuffing!  I will be adding it to my table when I host this year so I wanted to share this delicious stuffing recipe.

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Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound loaf (about 680 grams of bread) - white or sour dough, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored and large-diced
1 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspooon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1lb pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed (breakfast sausage also works too)
2-3 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 7 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the bread cubes to a very large bowl.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, apples, parsley, thyme, rosemary salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, until vegetables are soft. Add to the bread cubes.

In the same pan, cook the sausage over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage while cooking. Add to the bread cubes and vegetables.

Add the chicken stock and cranberries to the mixture, mix well, and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 until browned on top and hot in the middle.