I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner dinner!

A few days ago, I decided that I couldn't wait for Thanksgiving. I really wanted some fancy stuffing. An apple sausage walnut stuffing - to be exact. I'd request it for our upcoming Thanksgiving cook-a-thon, but my kitchen counterpart doesn't eat pork. Shame.

Luckily, I finagled the day off today (they took away my Veteran's Day holiday). So, I decided to make something manageable for two people to eat - a stuffed chicken. I used Anne Burrell's sausage apple walnut stuffing recipe as a guideline.

I stuffed 1/2 of this recipe inside my chicken & 1/2 into muffin tins (so each muffin gets a crispy top). I prepped my chicken per the normal - cover with olive oil & then with salt. I added some chopped butternut squash, acorn squash, and red potatoes into the pan. Then, I zested a lemon over all of it, which added a very subtle lemon flavor. & into the oven at 375 until the chicken thigh reached 165 degrees internal temperature.

The "gravy" from the chicken tasted amazing. It was sweetened by the squashes and had a mellow lemon flavor. I plan on making something from it - or maybe just adding it to my chicken stock for a soup.

Adapted Stuffing for two
1 apple, cored & diced
2 sausage links (potentially sweet Italian)
1 celery rib, diced
1/2 onion
6-8 lightly toasted bread slices
1/2 cup apple cider
1 cup chicken broth
4 leaves fresh sage
1/2 cup walnuts
olive oil
salt & pepper

(Directions mostly copied from Anne's recipe)
Coat a large saute pan, over medium heat, with olive oil and add the onions and celery. Season with salt and cook until the veggies start to become soft and are very aromatic. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until the sausage browns. Stir in the apples and apple cider and cook until the apples start to soften, about 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle in the sage leaves and the walnuts and turn off the heat.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Add the diced bread and toss together. Pour in the chicken stock and knead with your hands until the bread is very moist, actually wet. Taste to check for seasoning and season with salt, if needed. Transfer to muffin tins (or a rectangular dish) and bake until it is hot all the way through and crusty on top.

Yummmmmy! We gave the stuffing a 4/5.