Spicy Sausage Stuffing

My Mom & I were at Target a few weeks ago.  She was saying that it’s too bad that stores skip straight from Halloween to Christmas.  She was in search of some new Thanksgiving home decor and was coming up empty.  All we could find was this paper mache turkey in the party supply aisle.

I jumped on the bandwagon with her.  People shouldn’t turn on Christmas lights until Thanksgiving night at the earliest!!  No Christmas tree to be put up until Thanksgiving night at the earliest!!  No Christmas shopping until Black Friday!!  I was passionate about it.

And then I remembered that I’ve been listening to Michael Buble’s new Christmas CD for weeks.

There’s always an exception to the rule.

I’m making an exception to the rule for Thanksgiving.  We always have Stove Top stuffing for Thanksgiving.  Now, Stove Top is freaking delicious!  Don’t get me wrong!!  But when I saw the recipe for Emeril’s spicy sausage stuffing, I was sold!!  I’m sure my Dad isn’t too pleased with my decision.  He probably has a back-up box of Stove Top waiting in the cupboard just in case.

If you like Stove Top, plus meat, plus that Emeril BAM kick….you’ll heart this stuffing!!!

Spicy Sausage Stuffing

Recipe from Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons EVOO
4 cups milk
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 eggs
12 cups cubes day old white bread
1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1/4 pound ground beef
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with EVOO.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together milk, chicken broth, and eggs.  Add cubes of bread, mix well.  Set aside until mix is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, in a large skillet on medium-high heat, cook sausage and ground beef.  Break meat apart with a spoon until browned, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic, celery, green bell pepper, onion, salt, red pepper, and black pepper.  Cook and stir occasionally until tender and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Transfer meat mixture to your bowl with the bread.  Add parsley.  Stir to combine.

Transfer to your prepared baking dish.  Spread out evenly.  Bake until golden brown on top, about an hour.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!