Stuffins

Can you believe next week is Thanksgiving? I know I can’t! One of my daily goals is to live in the present and enjoy each day for what it is worth. Some days are easier than others, but it is so important to me because no day is guaranteed to anyone and I hate the feeling that my life is passing me by. With that said, I can’t seem to get enough time in the day. Who can really? I have a busy cooking week coming up - celebration at work, life long friends in town coming over and then of course Thanksgiving - two dinners! You ask what I am cooking? Well, funny story, I have no idea. As soon as I post this blog, I will be sitting down and planning my meals. I hate that I am doing it so late, but moving into this house has taken most of our spare time. Have you thought about what you are making? Last year, I made these stuffins (stuffing muffins) for my family's Thanksgiving and I think everyone enjoyed them. I made them again this past weekend, so I could photograph the steps for you. If you are planning your meal as late in the game as I am, consider adding these stuffins to the line up.

Stuffins
Servings: approximately  16-20 stuffins

Ingredients:
1 lb ground sausage, any variety
1 small demi loaf of bread, any variety (french, sourdough)
Onion, small chopped
Garlic, 2 cloves
1.5 tsp sage
1.5 tsp thyme
1 tsp celery seed
Chicken stock, 2 cups
Egg, one
 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop bread into small cubes and spread out on a greased pan. It should be about 3 cups. Bake for 12-15 minutes until slightly brown and dried out.

Better Bonus Tip: This is great to do with any bread that is about to go bad - make homemade croutons! 

While bread is in the oven, cook sausage on stovetop until cooked through. Remove sausage and set aside in a large bowl. Add onion to the sausage pan for a few minutes until almost translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic for 1-2 more minutes, but don’t let garlic burn, as it will become bitter.  Remove onion and garlic and add to sausage.

Once bread is done, also add that to the sausage mixture. Next, add the sage, thyme and celery seed, mixing well.

Better Bonus Tip: Feel free to add actual celery instead of celery seed, I just prefer the seasoning.

Add chicken stock to the bowl, mix well and let sit for 10 minutes or so until the stock is mostly soaked up. Lastly, add beaten egg to mixture.

Add mixture to muffin tins and bake for 30 minutes. Once done cooking, let the stuffins rest in the pan for at least 5 minutes before removing.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving holiday and don’t forget to celebrate what you are grateful for!


~Ashley