Sausage and Apple Stuffing

Ingredients

• 0.3 cup unfiltered apple cider 
• 0.5 teaspoon pepper black freshly ground
• 12 ounces inch sourdough bread cubes 
• 6 ounces mild breakfast sausage italian
• 1 cup celery chopped
• 1.3 cups no-salt-added chicken stock such as Swanson
• 2 large eggs lightly beaten
• 1.3 cups fennel bulb chopped
• 0.3 cup flat-leaf parsley fresh chopped
• 3 tablespoons sage fresh chopped
• 6  garlic cloves minced
• 3 cups golden delicious apple peeled chopped 2 medium
• 1.5 cups onion chopped

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• baking sheet
• oven
• whisk
• baking pan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 35
2. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet or jelly-roll pan.
3. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly.
4. Place in a large bowl.
5. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
6. Add sausage to pan, and cook for 5 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently to crumble.
7. Add sausage to bread in bowl.
8. Return pan to medium-high heat.
9. Add onion, fennel, and celery to pan; saut for 7 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in apple and garlic; saut for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
10. Add sage to pan; cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
11. Remove from heat; stir in parsley.
12. Add onion mixture to bread mixture; toss well to combine.
13. Combine chicken stock, apple cider, eggs, and black pepper in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.
14. Add egg mixture to bread mixture, stirring gently to combine. Spoon bread mixture into an 11 x 7inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.
15. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until top of stuffing is browned.