Sausage Mushroom Stuffing

serves about 8

  •  1lb. ground breakfast sausage (casings removed)
  •  1 large diced onion
  •  1 lb. mixed mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
  • 3 chopped cloves garlic
  • 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 5 -6 sprigs fresh chopped sage
  • ½ cup fresh chopped Italian parsley
  • heavy pinch red pepper flakes
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 3 ½ cups chicken broth
  • 6 cups of stale ciabatta bread, roughly torn
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter, cut into small pieces
  •  salt and pepper to taste

 

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter casserole dish and set aside. 

In a large pan, brown sausage over medium heat, breaking up into smaller pieces as it cooks. Once evenly browned, add onions and cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add mushrooms, celery and cook over medium for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook until garlic is softened, about 3 minutes.  

In a large bowl, toss the torn bread with the sausage mushroom mixture. Combine the broth and eggs in a measuring cup and slowly pour liquids over the sausage mushroom bread mixture. Stir to coat and let bread soak up the liquid. Season with salt & pepper to taste. 

Spread mixture out evenly, in the prepared baking dish. Dot the top evenly with pieces of butter. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Pull the cover off the top and cook for an additional 25-30 minutes for perfectly crisped and browned on top.