Sweet and Spicy: A Great Combination

Looking for an alternative to the usual white-bread stuffing, I came upon this recipe for cornbread and sausage stuffing. Besides the taste (which I'll get to in a second), what I liked most was that it was ridiculously easy to prepare. And, I made it in advance, refrigerated and just added five minutes on to the cooking time. It's a great choice if you have a busy schedule and prepare food in advance.

As for the taste, this one hit it out of the park. If you like the sweetness of cornbread, this is your new stuffing recipe. The sweet corn and spicy sausage play nicely off each other and every bite is as delicious as the next. My only complaint, and it was really my own doing, is it sucks up a lot of the broth when you cook it. So, you need to make sure it is adequately moist, or it can be a little dry and crumbly. I added some before serving, when I noticed it to be a bit dry, and it didn't absorb as much as it would have in the hear of the oven. It still tasted great and I plan to make this again. Next time, I may add some toasted pecans to add a little nutty flavor.

Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing
Recipe from EatingWell.com

1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage (about 4 links), casings removed
2 cups finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 pounds prepared cornbread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 12 cups)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 1/2-3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
   
2. Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 10 minutes. Add onion and celery; cover, reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add cornbread, parsley and sage.
   
3. Bring broth to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour 1 cup over the stuffing mixture and toss gently (the cornbread will break into smaller pieces). Add as much of the remaining broth as needed, 1/2 cup at a time, until the stuffing feels moist but not wet. Spoon the stuffing into the prepared pan and cover with foil.
   
4. Bake the stuffing until thoroughly heated, about 25 minutes. Serve warm.

Modifications:
None

Tip:
Fresh cornbread can be a little crumbly. Prepare the cornbread two to three days in advance and it will hold its shape better when mixing everything together. If you prefer a more moist stuffing, refer to my introduction comments above for a suggestion.

Updated 3/2/2008
12 servings
Weight Watchers = 7 points per serving