Pecan-Cornbread Stuffing

Pecan-Cornbread Stuffing

Thanksgiving can be a very stressful time for somebody allergic to gluten. Lucky for me, my family hosts Thanksgiving every year, so we can control the food I have to eat.

This year, my sister came home and was craving stuffing. Since she doesn’t like to cook, I got stuck with the job.

I was looking through my mom’s old recipe book, and saw she had clipped a recipe from the Dallas Morning News many years ago. It sounded great so I decided to give it a try.

I halved the recipe because I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but this is what is written

Ingredients

· 1/3 to ½ pound bulk pork sausage-sage flavored (I used Aidells Italian chicken sausage)

· 8 tablespoons of butter (divided use)

· 2 cups chopped celery (we substituted carrots because nobody in my family likes celery)

· 2 cups chopped onion

· 1 cup diced red bell pepper

· ¾ tablespoon salt

· ½ teaspoon pepper

· ½ teaspoon dried thyme

· ½ teaspoon dried oregano or tarragon

· 12 cups crumbled cornbread -about two pans cooked cornbread. (I used The Gluten-Free Pantry Yankee Cornbread Mix)

· ½ cup diced toasted pecans

· 2 to 2 ½ cups chicken broth

· Drippings from your turkey if available (I didn’t do this)

Directions

(Start by baking the cornbread and then crumbling it)

Using a large sauté pan, sauté the sausage for a few minutes, then add 2 tablespoons butter, the celery, onions, and bell pepper. Continue sautéing, breaking up the sausage and stirring, until the vegetables are wilted. Should be about 5-8 minutes. Add the seasonings and set aside.

Put the crumbled cornbread in a large bowl.

(I had prepared the cornbread the day before in muffins. I had about 3 muffins leftover. If you are not halving the recipe, you need to buy two mixes).

Add the cooled onion and sausage mixture and mix well (I didn’t wait for it to cool, oops!)

Transfer a portion of the stuffing to an 8-inch square pan. Add pecans to the rest, and scrape into a 9 by 13 inch pan. Cover with foil and freeze until ready to use.

(Since I halved the recipe, I just put it into a 9x13 pan, and sprinkled the toasted pecans on the top. And since I only bought normal pecans, I had to toast them myself!)

Thaw frozen stuffing in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375 F. Even pour chicken broth over both pans of thawed stuffing. Vary the amount of broth according to the desired texture of the stuffing. If your turkey has drippings add this now.

(I poured the butter on top and then mixed the whole mixture, then poured the broth on top, mixed the whole mixture, and then sprinkled the pecans on top).

Drizzle the top with the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter, melted, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is crisp. Makes 12 servings.

It was AMAZING!

We all loved it, and I am definitely making it again next year!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

-Anita