Sausage and apple cornbread stuffing
When Hallmark launched its Hallmark Health Rewards initiative, the foodservice department was looking for ways to take comfort-style recipes and make them healthier by altering a few ingredients. “We felt this approach was needed in our culture where there is such a significant number of manufacturing employees who were very used to comfort food diets,” says Christine Rankin, corporate services manager. This stuffing was one of the recipes included in the initiative.
Ingredients
3/4 lb. uncooked turkey sausage
3 tbsp. apple juice
1 tbsp. butter
1/3 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1 1/2 cups cored, diced apples
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp. fresh thyme
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
3 cups prepared cornbread
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Steps
- Cook sausage thoroughly. Add apple juice and simmer until liquid evaporates. Set aside.
- Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and sauté until onions are translucent. Stir in apples, parsley, thyme and poultry seasoning. Cook about 3 minutes and remove from heat.
- Add cornbread and sausage to apple mixture. Stir in enough chicken broth to moisten. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place stuffing in prepared pan and bake in 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
Recipe by Hallmark (Kansas City, Mo.)