This stuffing will be on the menu next year for Thanksgiving!! It includes a homemade bread that is SO EASY to make and you make all of the components the night before. Making the components of this dish the day before helps for easy assembly and cooking the day of! Making your Thanksgiving a time to enjoy friends and family and yummy food without stress. You can also make this stuffing on another day besides Thanksgiving too! It is a great side dish in the winter on those chilly days.
Recipe:
Serves 6-7
Ingredients:
5 Hearts of Celery - thinly sliced (2 cups)
2 1/2 Medium Yellow Onions - small chopped (2 cups)
1 tbsp Light Oil
1 lb Ground Sausage
1/2 tsp Ground Thyme
1 tsp Honey
2 Eggs - whipped
1 cup Low Sodium Chicken Stock
2 tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Low-Fat Milk (or dairy free option)
1/2 cup Low-Fat Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Dough Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour + extra for kneading
3 tbsp Sugar
1/2 cup Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Light Oil
1 Egg - beaten
Cooking Spray
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add 1 tbsp light oil on medium high heat to a large deep dish skillet and add the celery and onions. Sauté for 4 min or until onions are translucent. Remove from the pan and reserve.
3. Add the ground sausage to the same hot pan and cook o medium high heat until almost cooked through but still a little pink (2-3 min), continually breaking apart with a spoon as it cooks. Add back the onions and celery and then add the thyme, sage and honey to the pan and stir to combine. Cook the mixture for an additional 2 minutes to finish cooking the sausage, stirring occasionally. Add the mixture to a “throw away” aluminum casserole dish and let sit overnight.
4. Mix in a medium bowl all of the dough ingredients (besides cooking spray) together until a dough starts forming. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead until combined and smooth, about 1 minute.
5. Using a bread pan, spray the pan with cooking spray and evenly place the dough on the bottom and bake for 35 min or until the top is brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Let the bread cool and then cut into 1 inch cubes and lay on a sheet tray to dry overnight (makes 5 cups of cut bread). Side note: the bread will not rise to the top of the bread pan, it will rise halfway.
6. The next day, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
7. In a small bowl, combine the 2 eggs, low sodium chicken stock, low sodium soy sauce and low-fat milk. Evenly mix the dried bread into the sausage pan and pour the sauce mixture over bread and sausage. Let the stuffing soak for at least 1 hour and then bake, covered, for 35 minutes or until set. Remove the covering, add 1/2 cup shredded cheddar on top and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the top is slightly browned, served immediately.