Aunt Catherine's Stuffing

This is the quintessential holiday dish that my family most looks forward to eating - it is simply the best stuffing ever.  The following recipe will make one batch of stuffing but if you are feeding a large crowd or one that likes stuffing to begin with, you may need to double or triple the 'batch'.  It is scary to admit, but the last time I made this stuffing with my mom for Thanksgiving, a quadruple batch was needed.  Our kitchen looked like some sort of stuffing crazy place with a mountain of chopped onions (not a pair of onion goggles in sight), trays of bread and more pounds of sausage than I lift in a typical workout!  It is safe to say that this recipe will always be on our holiday table and this season if it is not on yours, I guess I will consider you lucky because you don't yet know what you are missing.

1 lb. bulk sausage (Maple Leaf in freezer section) or 1 lb. of  mild italian sausages, casings removed
1/4 cup butter
2 onions chopped
1 1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 large apple, peeled and diced
3/4 cup cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
5-6 fresh sage leaves, chopped
7 or 8 slices bread
poultry seasonings
salt & pepper to taste
1 medium potato cooked & mashed

Brown sausage meat in pan with 1/4 cup butter. In stages, add onion, celery, apple & mushrooms & cook on medium heat, about 15-20 minutes. Spinkle bread slices with poultry seasoning and toast under broiler until golden. Turn over bread slices and repeat.  Cut toasted bread into 1" cubes.

When sausage mixture is well cooked, remove to bowl and add toasted bread. Toss mixture well (your hands will work best for this, also feel free to really squish the mixture together to combine the flavours).  Next add the mashed potato, this will help the stuffing to stick together. 

Stuff turkey or place in an oven proof dish and warm just before serving.