Elegant Turkey Stuffing

I made this for Thanksgiving this year. I used to make stuffing from scratch by chopping sourdough bread for hours. It never came out right. That being said, I did have some day-old slices of sourdough that I chopped and added.

This recipe uses stuffing mix in addition to your own fresh ingredients. It came out great. The extra vegetables and fruit is a nutrition bonus.

Elegant Turkey Stuffing

1/2 cup raisins (I use a combination of golden raisins and craisins)
3/4 cup orange liqueur
1/4 cup butter
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
½ large onion, chopped
½ pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed (I use a big “tube” of Jimmy Dean spicy)
8 ounce package herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix
½ cup chopped pecans
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. sage or thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Place the raisins in a small saucepan, and cover with ½ cup of liqueur.
Bring to boil, remove from heat, and set aside.
In a large skillet, sauté the celery and onion in the butter for about 10 minutes; transfer to a large mixing bowl.
In the same skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until crumbled and evenly brown, then drain.
Combine the sausage and stuffing mix with the celery and onion mixture.
Stir in the raisins and liqueur, pecans, and apples.
Mix in melted butter, chicken broth, the rest of the liqueur.
The stuffing should be moistened.
Season with sage, salt, and pepper.