Just Like Grandma's Stuffing

Every year for Thanksgiving, my Italian grandma would make a delicious stuffing chock full of sausage, apples, celery and onions. After my Grandmother passed, no one knew how to replicate her dish. And, we started going to my father's wife's family's house for Thanksgiving, and they preferred STOVE TOP!! FOR THANKSGIVING!!! To me, that is a sacrilege!

My father's wife did attempt to make Grandma's stuffing last year, with truly AWFUL results! The stuffing was a mushy, salty MESS!! So, for Christmas, I decided to make a valiant effort to duplicate Grandma's delicious stuffing. I came up with this recipe, and it came out PERFECT on the VERY FIRST TRY! I am hoping to persuade my father's wife to allow me to bring this dish to the next Thanksgiving meal!

* 6 links italian sausage casings removed
* 1/2 stick butter
* 3 stalks celery sliced thin
* 2 macintosh apples peeled and diced
* 1 medium onion chopped
* 2 Tbsp minced garlic
* 1 bag seasoned stuffing cubes
* 1 14 oz can chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350. Put sausage in large skillet. Saute sausage until no longer pink (about 10 minutes). Remove from skillet. Melt butter in skillet. Add celery, apples and onion. Saute until slightly tender (about 10 minutes). Add garlic. Saute 2 more minutes. Put sausage and vegetable mixture into a large bowl. Mix together. Add bread cubes. Mix thoroughly. Add chicken broth, toss together until all the bread cubes are damp (they will be moist, NOT WET) Put mixture in a large casserole or aluminum pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.