Ingredients
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1/2 lb. ground Italian sausage, mild, sweet or hot
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4 - 6 strips quality lean thick-cut bacon, cut into 1″ pieces
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1/2 stick (4 Tbl.) butter
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1 medium onion, diced into 1/2″ pieces or to preference
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1 large stalks celery, thinly sliced
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1 tsp. dried parsley, or a small palmful of fresh chopped if you have it
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1/2 tsp. dried ground sage
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1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed between your fingers and thumb to release flavor
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1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
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1/4 tsp. dried ground rosemary
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1/4 tsp. salt
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1/4 tsp. course ground black pepper
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1 apple such as Honeycrisp or Granny Smith, unpeeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized pieces
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8 oz. fresh figs, quartered lengthwise, as you like (small ones can be halved)
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2 cups chicken broth, *may not need all of it
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1/2 cup chopped pecans
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1 (8 oz.) bag dry bread cubes, unseasoned or seasoned doesn’t seem to matter (*Or make your own using 12 slices of Texas Toast bread, torn, dried and toasted!)
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1 extra-large egg, beaten
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more salt and pepper, 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. each (to taste)
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3 - 4 Tbl. more butter, cut into very small pieces (to dot top)
Instructions
*If making your own bread cubes from Texas Toast bread, tear up 12 slices, place onto baking sheets, let dry for 3 days (tossing each day), and then toast if needed. *See my blog for extra directions and photos.In large deep frying pan, sauté sausage, breaking up as you go along, until done. Drain grease, remove sausage to a bowl, cover and set aside. Rinse out pan and wipe dry.Bake peppered bacon on a foil-lined baking sheet in 375º F oven for 25 - 30 minutes until crispy, turning strips over during last 10 minutes. Remove to paper towels to drain. When cool enough to handle, tear into bite sized pieces, about 1/2 - 1 inch wide.In rinsed and dried frying pan, melt butter and add next 9 ingredients. Sauté until veggies are crisp-tender. Add apples, and sauté 2 - 3 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Fold in cooked sausage and bacon, and sliced figs. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the chicken broth. Stir in beaten egg. (*DO NOT COOK EGG.)In large bowl, add bread cubes and pecans and toss to combine. Pour pan ingredients over the bread cubes and fold several times to combine. (Add more salt and pepper to taste.) *DO NOT over mix, only fold until cubes are moistened. Add more (rest of) broth if dry.Place evenly into sprayed 13 x 9 baking dish. Dot top with tiny pieces of butter evenly. Cover with lid or foil and refrigerate until needed or bake now.If baking now, pop covered dish into preheated 350º F oven for 1 hour. *If a crispy top is desired, remove top or foil during last 5-10 minutes.*Or you can stuff into your turkey JUST BEFORE turkey is to be baked. NEVER pre-stuff your turkey.
