Sausage & Stuffing Bake

Original recipe HERE

 

This is marketed as a brunch dish, but I made it for dinner.  It's a simple one to tweak according to your own tastes: type of sausage, variety of vegetables, or type of cheese.

 

My kids liked it and asked for seconds.  They even ate most of the vegetables.  I wish the egg element had been a little firmer, so next time I might cut the amount of egg whites and add in a few full eggs.  Also, the cheese congealed on top as the casserole cooled, so perhaps stirring the cheese into the stuffing mixture would prevent that and distribute the cheese flavor into every bite.

I used the cubed stuffing, but it still pretty much just turned into one mass of mush (which I say in a good way) along with the egg.  I thought there would be more of a bread-like substance throughout, but it was just egg-y.  The taste was fine, but the consistency wasn't what I was expecting...just an FYI.

 

Ingredients

1 lb sausage, precooked [I used Italian chicken]

1 small onion, diced small

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 to 3 carrots, peeled & diced

2 to 3 cloves garlic, pressed

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 cups herb seasoned stuffing mix [I used Pepperidge Farm cubed style]

1/2 cup broth

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

5 oz sharp cheddar, grated

2 cups milk

16 oz carton fat-free egg substitute [I used a container of egg whites]

salt & pepper, to taste

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 9x13" baking dish.

(2) Cut sausages in half lengthwise, then into slices.

(3) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.

(4) Add sausage, onion, mushrooms, celery, carrot, and garlic to skillet.  Saute until sausage is browned and vegetables are softened.

(5) In a large mixing bowl, combine stuffing and sausage mixture.  Stir thoroughly.

(6) Transfer stuffing mixture to the baking dish.  Drizzle with broth and melted butter.

(7) Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over the stuffing mixture.

(8) In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg substitute, salt, and pepper. 

(9) Pour milk mixture evenly over the stuffing mixture. 

(10) Bake about 40 minutes, uncovered, or until egg is set and casserole is cooked through.  Allow to cool several minutes before serving.

 

Kid Participation: None.