Italian Sausage Thanksgiving Dressing

 In the years that we’ve been doing this blog, we’ve learned a lot about others’ family tradition when it comes to Thanksgiving. One thing we’ve learned is everyone is scared of making the turkey (don’t be...our recipe is a lot of work, but it’s hard to mess up!) Another thing we’ve learned is people don’t like you messing with their Thanksgiving dressing (or stuffing, depending on what you actually did with it and where you live.) Luckily, I’ve been making this Italian Sausage Thanksgiving Dressing for so long that now it wouldn’t feel like Thanksgiving without it. But it wasn’t always this way.history of this recipeMy dad is a meddler. A tinkerer. Someone who just can’t leave simple things alone. He’ll take your average can of Campbell’s Bean with Bacon soup and start adding condiments, herbs, and spices until you can hardly call it Bean with Bacon anymore. And one year when I was in college, he took good old simple Thanksgiving dressing and…mutated it. I’ll admit, I was so mad the first year–he was messing with things near and dear to my heart. But over the years, I came to love it.Since I can’t get the man to write down the recipe, I went ahead and tinkered around with it myself, which ended with a surprising (and delicious) addition of dried cranberries. One thing I love is that this dressing has it all–the savory of the dressing, onions, and garlic, sweet and sour from the apples and cranberries, bitter from the nuts, and spicy from the sausage.. The beauty is that you can tweak here and there what you like and don’t like AND that you can make a portion of it ahead of time to cut down on your T-Day work load.how to make it You’re going to need a package of Italian sausage (unless you know you like it spicy, start with mild/sweet and then add spice to taste near the end so it’s not too hot.) You’ll also need an onion, celery, garlic, mushrooms, a Granny Smith apple, a 16-ounce package of cubed stuffing, chicken broth, toasted pecans (optional), and dried cranberries (optional). Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9×13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.Chop your onion, garlic, and celery.Heat a very large skillet to medium heat, remove casings on the Italian sausage (if they have casings), and crumble the sausage in the pan. As it starts to brown, stir in onions, celery, and garlic. As the sausage cooks, break up larger pieces–part of the awesomeness of this dressing are the little sausage bits in every bite. While this is cooking, chop the mushrooms and grate the apple (a food processor is handy with the apples but not necessary.)  As the onions begin to turn translucent, stir in mushrooms and apple. Cook until the mushrooms are tender, then sprinkle dressing mix over the sausage mix and then add chicken broth. Continue stirring as the dressing mix absorbs the liquid. Add in pecans and cranberries (if desired). When the liquid has been incorporated and the mixture is fully mixed, transfer to the prepared dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes. If you’d like to make this 1-2 days ahead of time, cover it after you place it in the 9×13 pan, and then bake it straight from the fridge.  PrintDescriptionThis loaded Italian Sausage Thanksgiving dressing (or stuffing) is definitely not Stove Top! This will become a Thanksgiving staple for years to come!Ingredients1 pound Italian sausage (I recommend mild/sweet and then adding additional heat if desired)1 onion, chopped2 stalks celery, chopped5-6 cloves garlic, minced1 cup chopped mushrooms1 grated Granny Smith apple (a food processor is handy but not necessary)1 16-oz. package cubed stuffing or dressing (I like Pepperidge Farms; for this recipe, I try to stay away from Stove Top because the flavor is so overwhelming)2 1/2 cups chicken broth1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)1/2+ cup dried cranberries (optional)InstructionsPreheat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray a 9×13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.Heat a very large skillet or Dutch oven to medium heat and add a light drizzle of olive oil. If necessary, remove sausage casings and crumble the sausage in the pan. As it starts to brown, stir in onions, celery, and garlic. As the sausage cooks, break up larger pieces. As the onions begin to turn translucent, stir in mushrooms and apple and cook until the mushrooms are tender. Sprinkle dressing mix over the sausage mix and then add chicken broth. Continue stirring as the dressing mix absorbs the liquid. Add in pecans and cranberries (if desired). When the liquid has been incorporated and the mixture is fully mixed, taste and add hot sauce (like Tabasco) to taste. Transfer to a 9×13 dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Notesmake ahead instructionsIf you’d like to make this 1-2 days ahead of time, cover it after you place it in the 9×13 pan, and then bake it straight from the fridge.