Sage Sausage Cranberry Stuffing

I'll be honest, I am a "Stove Top" stuffing kind of guy. It is easy to make and has flavors I like. But, for Thanksgiving, I had to go out and find a stuffing recipe that was a little more complex. I was very pleased with the outcome of this recipe and I look forward to making this at future Thanksgivings.

Ingredients

5 cups of sourdough bread, cut in cubes

1 pound of Jimmy Dean sage flavor sausage

1/2 large onion, chopped

1/2 cups of celery, chopped

5 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped

3 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, removed from the stem

1 Granny Smith Apple, cored and cubed

3/4 cups of dried cranberries

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1 cup chicken stock (or turkey stock)

1/2 cup butter, melted

Cooking Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake for 7-15 minutes. Transfer bread cubes to large bowl.

In a skillet, cook the sausage and onions until brown. Add the celery, sage, thyme and rosemary. Cook for 2 additional minutes.

Pour the sausage mix over the bread. Mix in the apples, cranberries, and parsley. Drizzle the chicken stock and butter over the mixture.

Bake, covered for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. Then uncover, stir again, and return to oven, raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes.