Mom’s Stuffing Recipe-Thanksgiving

This is my version of Mom’s stuffing recipe. It is not a Mexican recipe, but a pretty awesome recipe in my eyes. The story behind this recipe is that my Mom found it published in the LA. Times newspaper back in the 60’s. Thanksgiving celebration was a whole new thing for our family, since my parents were born in Mexico. But now, Thanksgiving would not be the same without this recipe.

My job as a child was to dice up the green apple. My Mom knew I loved the green apple so much, she would always let me have part of the apple when I was done. Every time I slice a green apple and smell the aroma, it takes me right back to those moments in Mom’s kitchen. While I was in Monterrey, Mexico in 2011, I prepared this special side dish to share with my tia and her family. They really enjoyed it. This is my most favorite recipe of all when it comes to Thanksgiving! I am positive mom used a special brand of bread stuffing found in California. I have never seen it here in New York where I live, so I always try to find similar ingredients. Happy Thanksgiving! Feliz Dia de Accion de Gracia! 

So happy mt dad took some pictures with his polaroid camera to capture those special moments. 

Directions

Yields 8-10 Servings

Ingredients

1 pound ground chuck(beef)
1 pound Jimmy Dean Pork/Sage flavored sausage
1 medium white onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 sticks of celery, sliced or diced small
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 small green apple, diced
1/3 cup slivered almonds
salt
pepper
garlic powder
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped (my addition) 

14-16 ounces cornbread stuffing
5 cup low sodium chicken broth, more if needed

Directions

1. On medium/high heat, brown the  beef and pork sausage in a large dutch oven-style pot. Season with a little salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Once the beef and sausage is nicely browned and cooked through, add the onions, carrots, celery , bell pepper and thyme. Combine and cook for 7-9 minutes. Add the apple and almonds and cook for another few minutes. Fold in the bread stuffing and gradually mix in the chicken broth. If it seems too dry, add a little more broth. You want it to look moist so it does not dry out during the baking process. Taste for salt.

2. Place the stuffing in a large baking dish and bake in a 350  degree preheated oven until warmed through and top is nicely browned and the bread looks toasted. Grab a fork! Lol! Let it sit for a few minutes before serving. It will be very hot! Back in the day, Mom used to stuff the turkey with this recipe and cook part of it in a small baking dish. I rarely cook a whole turkey and prefer to bake it in a pan instead of inside of the turkey.

When I cannot find the sausage with sage, I just add some powdered sage. For this recipe, I would add about 1/2 of a teaspoon when cooking the meat. 

Before baking

After Baking

I don’t think I mixed it well enough, lol! One side looks like it has more bread stuffing!