Turkey Day Approacheth....

The Carnival is now up here. Hosted by the lovely and soon-to-be-working-again (yay!) Boudicca.

Since it's nearly Thanksgiving, two holiday recipes for the Carnival and your culinary pleasure:

Sausage, Apple, and Cranberry Stuffing:
1 1/2 cups cubed whole wheat bread
3 3/4 cups cubed white bread
1 pound ground turkey sausage
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 Golden Delicious apple, cored and chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1 cooked turkey liver, finely chopped
3/4 cup turkey stock
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C). Spread the white and whole wheat bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.
2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the lumps until evenly browned. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.
2. Pour sausage mixture over bread in bowl. Mix in chopped apples, dried cranberries, parsley, and liver. Drizzle with turkey stock and melted butter, and mix lightly. Spoon into turkey to loosely fill.
To bake outside the bird (safer, IMO): 350 for 40-45 minutes in a baking dish cover until last 5-10 minutes for that nice crunchy top.

Notes: I like to find sage and rosemary sausage if I can. Pork sausage or chicken will also do nicely, although chicken will be less fatty, and pork, perhaps a little more so. I usually have a big enough turkey that I double the recipe except for the meat, which I add to my taste. Also, as written it is super dry, so add up to 2 cups of chicken broth/stock.

Easy Cranberry Sauce:

2 pkgs Cranberries
1 orange zested (may also use orange and tangerine zest)
3 cinnamon sticks
1 cup OJ (fresh squeezed)
1 cup tangerine juice (fresh squeezed, can use just OJ if tangerines aren’t available)
2 cups Brown Sugar

Directions:
1. In Sauce Pan, combine cranberries, orange zest, cinnamon, brown sugar, Juice, and enough water to cover (cranberries will float, don’t over do it)Bring to a boil on high heat.
2. Immediately reduce heat and simmer about 1 hr or until sauce has thickened to the consistency you want. Let cool and refrigerate in a covered container.

Makes a TON, and keeps forever if sealed tightly. Great if your family loves the stuff.