Sage dressing with sausage, onions and celery -- gluten-free

Sage dressing* with sausage, onions and celery -- gluten-free

As I work on dressing for tonight's dinner, I am also waiting to hear from my daughter about the birth of my new granddaughter. Perhaps that is what has given me more creative energy than on a typical day. 

The kids are joining us for a post Thanksgiving dinner which will be followed up by an evening of Christmas light viewing up at the local Light Show on Thoroughbred Ave. 

As I made up my typical batch of dressing, I realized I really did not want to get sick again, I like I did last week, on Thanksgiving, when I consumed all of the regular wheat and dairy foods. So, in addition to making dressing for everyone else, I decided to make a batch just for me.

My daughter, who is currently busy with all of the baby business, sent me a recipe for gluten-free dressing a few weeks before Thanksgiving. While the recipe is somewhere within the depths of my phone, I do remember the most important part: cut loaf of gluten-free bread into cubes and toast into stuffing 'mix'. That is where I am beginning.

Once I have the bread all cut into perfect bread cubes, I use extra virgin olive oil to oil a cookie sheet. 

Then, I spread the 'croutons' out upon the oil and lightly oil the tops of the croutons, as well. lightly toss the cubes until coated with oil. Then, using powdered sage or poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, season the croutons. Toss, again.

Put pan into pre-heated 350 degree oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Pull out and stir. Bake for another 10 minutes. Stir again. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until nice and crunchy.

I am using the mixings, I reserved from making my regular batch of dressing, to mixing into my baked stuffing croutons. They include Jimmy Dean's Regular Breakfast Sausage, celery, red and white onions. In the past, I have always made my dressing with butter, lots and lots of butter. This year, I used only extra virgin olive oil for all of my frying of vegetables and mixing in to flavor the chicken broth for basting our turkey. 

Because I poured my 'hot' croutons straight from the cookie sheet into a glass bowl, I put a metal spoon into the bowl first, to dissipate the heat and keep the bowl from cracking. Then, I added my sausage and veggie mixture.

Finally, I added chicken stock which has been heated up in the same pan I fried both the meat and the vegetables. This gets all of the tasty dripping from the bottom of the pan, and the heat helps the moisture soak into the croutons. The croutons should get enough moisture to begin to soften, but not be soggy.

At this point, you can add more sage and salt and pepper to taste.

Put into bread loaf pan that has been oiled with extra virgin olive oil and cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil for last 10 minutes for crunchier top.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups gluten free croutons  (loaf of gluten-free bread)
1/2 cup sausage
1 stalk celery
1/4 white onion
1/4 red onion
1-1/2 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons sage powdered (this is to taste)
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil

*A fact I sadly did not know for most of my adult life: The difference between dressing and stuffing is dressing never gets 'stuffed' inside of a bird, turkey or otherwise. And, since I don't like to stuff my birds, since it slows down the cooking process, I guess I ALWAYS make DRESSING.