Cornbread Sausage Stuffing

We took a vacation up to Burlington, Vermont over the week and returned on Thanksgiving, just in time to cook our Thanksgiving meal. I made this stuffing recipe the first year I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for us. Ryan’s mom, sister and brother came to eat with us that year and I was a nervous wreck. Everything came out great and the stuffing was declared the best dish. Since then, it has been our tradition to make this recipe for Thanksgiving. Any cornbread recipe will work, however I use the one that can be found in our cookbook.

Ingredients
Oil or butter, for greasing the pan
1 batch of cornbread (9 x 13 size), cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 tbsp oil
1 lb bulk sausage
2 onions, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 c. broth
1 c. milk 
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp cornstarch 

Instructions
1. Grease a 9 x 13 dish with oil or butter. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add sausage and cook, breaking meat into small pieces, until brown, about 7-10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

3. Add onions and celery to the fat in the pan and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in thyme, sage and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Whisk in 2 1/2 c. of broth, milk and pepper and bring to a simmer.

4. In a separate small bowl, whisk together remaining broth and cornstarch. Slowly whisk into simmering mixture. Simmer until slightly thick, about 10 minutes.

5. Add cornbread to the bowl with the sausage but do not mix. Pour broth mix over the cornbread and stir gently. Cover with plastic and let sit until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

6. Transfer cornbread mixture to the greased dish and bake 40 minutes, until the top is golden.