Muzzie's Fabulous Stuffing

Step 1

First, cook the sausage in a skillet with about 1 inch of water, over a medium-high heat. You won't be frying it - you'll be poaching it. Use a potato masher to mash the sausage into smallish pieces. You want it thoroughly cooked and not browned and greasy, and not into tiny bits, either. Keep half the remaining water; throw out the rest. Put the cooked sausage and reserved sausage water in a large bowl and set aside—you will need to use the skillet again.

Now in the same skillet, heat the butter and oil together over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until nice and soft, about eight minutes.

To the sausage in the bowl, add the sautéed veggies and remaining ingredients except the chicken broth. Toss everything together and add a little chicken broth, a bit at a time, to get a soft texture. You will use about ¼ cup of the broth or may a little more, depending on how dry your dressing is. You want it moist, not drenched. Definitely don't soak the dressing with chicken broth. Save any remaining broth for the gravy.

Place the dressing in a lightly greased casserole dish to be baked later (in a 325 degree oven, covered for about one hour). You will bake the dressing an hour before showtime.