i made this quickly last night to go with our belated turkey (we went to my sister's house for thanksgiving, and didn't get any leftovers
).
bucky's quick stuffing
2 cups celery, diced
2 cups red onion, diced
6 links of turkey sausage, casing removed
1 large granny smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 large cortland apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 bag of pepperidge farm bread cubes for stuffing
3 slices of pepperidge farm health nut bread, cubed
2 tbsps toatsed/shelled sunflower seeds
2 tbsps toasted/shelled pumpkin seeds
3 tbsps butter
3 tbsps canola oil
5 sage leaves, chiffonade
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 14 oz. can of turkey or chicken stock
sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
in a skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tbsp each of butter and oil, and brown the sausage, chopping it down into small chunks as it cooks. set aside in a very large bowl.
add remaining butter and oil, turn heat to high, and sweat the onions and celery. add the thyme and sage. when the onions are just beginning to carmelize, add them to the bowl with the sausage. deglaze the skillet with some of the stock, and add the liquid to the bowl.
add the bag of stuffing, apples, seeds, and bread cubes to the bowl, and toss to distribute everything. add salt and pepper to taste. pour into a deep, clear glass baking dish (that has been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray like pam), pressing down gently to flatten it out. drizzle remaining stock evenly over the stuffing, so that you can see a little liquid beginning to pool on the bottom. this is the key to getting it right. too much stock on the bottom, and it will be too mushy; to little, and it will be dry. err on the dry side, because you can always add more stock as it bakes.
put into a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. remove from oven, brush top with melted butter, turn heat up to 450, and put back in oven for another 10 minutes or so to crisp the top and edges.