Sausage, Apple, and Cranberry Stuffing

This isn't your ordinary stuffing. It's something special. It's got apples and cranberries, fresh autumn herbs, chunky cubes of bread, and it's loaded with sausage.  Yes, full-fat, flavorful, juicy pork sausage. And it tastes wonderful! I feel bad calling it a "side" dish because it practically stole the show! I could easily eat a big bowlful and call it dinner. (It does contain two fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy (yep, butter counts), and a protein- it practically is a meal!) We enjoyed it alongside herb-roasted turkey, balsamic roasted potatoes, buttered haricots verts, and rich turkey gravy. I'm pretty sure this recipe is going to stick around; it might even make the Thanksgiving line up for years to come!

INGREDIENTS
6-8 cups cubed bread (I used half whole wheat sourdough and half roasted garlic loaf)
1 lb. mild Italian pork sausage (this is definitely a lot of sausage, next time I think I'll use less)
1 cup onion, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1 golden delicious apple, cored and chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced
approx. 1 cup turkey stock (homemade is best!)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. To toast the bread cubes, preheat oven to 350 F. Spread bread in an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes in preheated oven until evenly toasted. Remove and let cool.

2. Cook sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium heat until the sausage is browned and the onions are soft. Add celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, to blend flavors.

3. Toss to combine toasted bread cubes and sausage mixture in a large bowl. Stir in apple, cranberries, and parsley. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Drizzle with melted butter and turkey stock and mix lightly. Season with salt and pepper, to taste (if you are using store-bought turkey stock you will probably NOT need to add any salt).

4. Preheat oven to 400 F (or whatever your turkey is cooking at). Cover with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until apples are tender and the stuffing has browned on top. You can stir it every so often for more even cooking. If it becomes dry, drizzle more turkey stock over top.

Serves 8.

(Adapted from All Recipes)