Cornbread-Sausage-Pecan Stuffing

So it was pointed out to me (thanks Juliet) that I had yet to make my Cornbread-Sausage-Pecan Stuffing for you all. It’s been a big hit every time I make it and I never have to worry about leftovers. I’ve been making it for so long that I can’t even remember how I came across it to begin with but it was one of the best finds I’ve got in my collection. I try not to limit making it to Thanksgiving, but it is the perfect time to break it out and share it with family and friends.

Cornbread-Sausage-Pecan Stuffing

1 pkg cornbread mix, to bake and crumble
1-16 oz. pkg ground pork sausage*
1 lg onion, chopped
2 lg. celery ribs, chopped
1-1/2 cups pecans, chopped
1-1/4 cups broth, chicken or veggie
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg

*because one of our T-day dinner diners can't have pork, I substituted chicken sausage instead, so if you look at the photos and think "that pork sausage sure looks funny" it's because it's not pork, but since the original recipe uses pork we'll just pretend

Bake cornbread according to package instructions. After it’s done baking, allow to cool to the touch then crumble into small bits.

Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink.

(chicken sausage, not pork)

Remove sausage from skillet with a slotted spoon and allow to drain on a paper towel. I usually line a bowl or dish with the paper towel and let it sit for a while.

Reserve 1 tbsp of the sausage drippings in skillet and use to sauté the onion and celery over medium high heat.

Cook the veggies until they are tender. Remove from skillet and drain.

In a large bowl, combine sausage, cooked veggies, cornbread and the remaining ingredients. Stir gently until all ingredients are thoroughly moistened.

Spoon mixture into a lightly greased baking pan (9x13) or in a large covered dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated through.

sorry about the yellow photo, my camera died and had to be replaced, but the back-up had to be recharged so a back-up, back-up camera was brought in...it doesn't really look this yellow when you pan it, I promise

Serves 12 – unless your guests REALLY like dressing in which case you won’t be able to feed as many. It makes a great stand alone side in addition to a nice Thanksgiving side.

NOTES

In addition to our non-pork T-day dinner diner, we also had someone with a gluten allergy, so I used a gluten-free cornbread mix and was able to substitute it for a regular mix without losing any of the taste or flavor, but guaranteeing a safe eating experience for our guest.

The chicken sausage we used was also gluten-free.  Of all the flavor varieties available, we chose the one with apples and maple flavoring because it best complimented the cornbread and pecans in the recipe.
 

In the past, to save time, I have also used a bag of Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing in lieu of baking fresh cornbread. Because the cornbread stuffing mix is much drier than fresh baked, you can simple add extra broth, milk, or sherry to the mix.

If you substitute chicken or turkey sausage for pork sausage, you are not going to have the same amount of drippings in the pan after frying it up, so if you need to add 1 tsp of olive oil to the pan when cooking your celery and onions.