Recipe: Cajun Cornbread Stuffing

Before it's baked.

Mr Big Food used store-bought Boudain sausage rather than andouille. 

A meal in itself, not only a “side dish.” 

CAJUN CORNBREAD STUFFING 

12 servings corn bread (preferably homemade—see recipes in Baked Goods section—but can use 2 boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin mix, made according to package directions for corn bread
6 Tbs. butter or margarine
1 pound andouille sausage, chunked
3 chopped bell peppers (green, red, yellow—use your imagination)
2 bunches chopped green onion (white and green parts)
1 white onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
10-12 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. dried rubbed sage
1 tsp. ground allspice
¾ tsp. cayenne pepper
6 bay leaves
4 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups chicken stock (preferably homemade—see recipes in Basics section)

Instruction below.

Preheat oven to 350^o. Crumble corn bread on large cookie sheet. Bake until slightly dry and toasted, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a large bowl. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage, pepper, green onion, onion, celery, garlic, thyme, sage, allspice, cayenne, and bay leaves, and sauté until vegetables are tender and mixture is very moist, about 15 minutes. Stir vegetable mixture into cornbread. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix eggs into stuffing. Spray a large casserole or roaster with cooking spray. Mix chicken stock into stuffing. Transfer stuffing to roaster and cover tightly with sprayed aluminum foil. Bake until stuffing is firm and heated through, about 45 minutes. Uncover stuffing and bake until beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.