Low-Carb Recipe: Herbed Sausage Stuffing

This delicious stuffing offers a change from traditional bread-based carb-filled stuffings. Sausage (you can choose different types or flavors to change things up - try Italian sausage, spicy, or even chorizo, but be sure to go all-natural to avoid sulfites and other unhealthy preservatives) and lots of vegetables form the base for this tasty Thanksgiving-ready side dish, and a variety of fresh herbs gives a distinctive flavor.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Herbed Sausage Stuffing

Ingredients:
1 lb. natural turkey sausage (or any sausage you like)
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs
2 cups chopped cauliflower (bite size)
1/2 cup chopped yellow squash (bite size)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
3 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
3 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 garlic clove, grated
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• If using cased sausage, cut off the casings and break sausage up into a skillet.
• Put skillet over medium heat, add the celery and cook, stirring often, until the celery starts to get a little soft, then add onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion gets soft.
• Continue cooking, stirring often, until the sausage is totally cooked through.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then add the cooked sausage mixture to the bowl, mix eggs into meat, then add remaining ingredients and mix together until blended.
• Turn into a casserole dish, cover, and put in preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.  
• Check and if it's too moist, uncover and continue cooking for 5 to 10 minutes more, or until edges start to brown.
• Serve hot with turkey, duck, ham, or other holiday meats.

And be sure to check back Friday for some ideas on what to do with all those leftovers!

Recipe - Vegan Cornbread

If you're looking for vegan recipe ideas, here's a delicious idea for cornbread. This goes great with the Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup recipe from Wednesday, or try it with vegetarian chili for a tasty bowl of comfort food!

Vegan Cornbread

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups soy milk (unsweetened)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose pastry flour
1 ½ tbsp white wine vinegar
1 cup cornmeal
2 tbsp honey
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425°Fahrenheit and lightly grease a 9" square baking dish.
• In a small bowl, combine vinegar and soy milk and allow to sit for a few minutes. 
• Meanwhile, sift flour into a medium-size mixing bowl and add the rest of the dry ingredients. Add the soy milk/vinegar mixture and the oil and combine until just blended.
• Spoon the dough into the baking dish and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until cooked through. 
• Serve with soup or chili!