Cornbread, Cranberry, Sausage Stuffing

Just a delightful stuffing…..excellent with turkey…. or on it’s own.

• 2 batches of cornbread 18 (see link, below)
• 2 cups pecans, chopped
• 7 leeks – about 1 pound (4 cups, cooked)
• 4 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 6 T butter
• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
• 2 cups fresh or unthawed frozen cranberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp each, salt and black pepper

https://cookrboy.wordpress.com/mamas-sweet-cornbread/

Preheat oven to 325F.  Cut cornbread into 1/2 inch cubes and bake in middle of oven until dry, about 20 minutes.  Transfer corn bread to a large bowl.  Toast pecans in oven until insides are golden, 10 – 20 minutes.

Discard the dark-green parts of the leeks.  Halve leeks lengthwise and then thinly slice crosswise.  Wash carefully and drain.  Saute leeks and celery in skillet with butter, salt and pepper until tender, about 25 minutes.  Remove sausage from casings and add to leek mixture.  Cook another 5 minutes until sausage is cooked through.

In heavy sausepan, cook cranberries with sugar over moderately high heat, stirring – 5 minutes, or until some berries begin to burst.  Chop parsley.  Combine ingredients.  I made-ahead by 1 day.

I cooked this in the slow-cooker on low for 6 hours.  There were a few cups that wouldn’t fit in the cooker, so I wrapped the left-over in tin foil and cooked in the oven at 350F for 1 hour.  Really, really good – sweet, moist, and just deeeeeeeeelicious.  Serves an army.