Pre-Thanksgiving: Sausage Sage Stuffing

I'm having to reuse my Thanksgiving plate image again because I never got a picture of the stuffing all by itself.  Stuffing vs. Dressing.  It doesn't matter to me.  "It's allll good!" said in my very best Southern accent.  Love the stuff.  Probably my most favorite thing ever! Wouldn't you agree?

I always stuff my bird.  I know there are skeptics out there, but I have never (and I repeat "NEVER") gotten sick, or gotten anyone else sick.  There are a couple important tips to know about stuffing your turkey, though:

RULE #1:  NEVER stuff until just before you're ready to put the turkey in the oven.
RULE #2:  Wait until just before stuffing to mix all your ingredients together. 

Because turkey takes such a long time to roast, I always get all of my stuffing ingredients prepped the night before, so all I have to do is mix things together in the morning, stuff, and pop in the oven.  Works out perfectly.  I also stuff the neck cavity and use needle and string or skewers to tack the flap down to hold it all in place.

Here's my recipe for sausage sage stuffing. 

2 bags bread cubes for stuffing (I like the kind that has white and wheat)
1 tube sage sausage
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 cups carrots, finely diced
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp thyme
approx. 3 cups chicken broth or turkey broth

Cook the sausage in a skillet using a spatula to break apart the sausage.  Set aside.

Heat a little oil or butter in a skillet and saute the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery until onion becomes translucent. (I like to add 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms to the saute, too but if you don't like mushrooms, leave them out.)

*The sausage and veggies can be cooked the night before so everything's ready to go in the morning when you stuff your turkey.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together.  Drizzle some broth around the top and mix around.  Stuff the neck and body cavities of your turkey and stitch up so nothing falls out.  Put your turkey in the oven immediately.  Don't let this sit around or you could contaminate your turkey and stuffing with bad bacteria.

With the leftover stuffing, wet more with broth and put in a casserole dish.  Put in the fridge until you're ready to put it in the oven.  Bake approx. 1 hour or until nice and hot.

We mix the stuffing from the casserole dish with the bit that comes out of the turkey.  Serve hot.