Sweet Sausage and Cranberry Stuffing

3 slices white bread, cubed
3 slices wheat bread, cubed
2 sweet Italian sausages, with casing removed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 large celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 shallot (or onion), diced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 sage leaves, chopped fine
2 cups chicken stock or broth
Salt and pepper

Leave the bread cubes on a sheet pan overnight to dry out.
In a pan, heat the olive oil and crumble in the sausage. Cook until brown and crumbly, remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan, add the butter and saute the celery, carrot, onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
In a bowl, combine the sausage, veggies and cranberries with the bread cubes and sage. Season with more salt & pepper. Pour over the chicken broth until all is absorbed into the bread (you may not need all of the broth). Pour into a greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees COVERED for 15 minutes. UNCOVER and bake another 5-10 minutes, or until the top is slightly crispy and golden brown.

*I am a stuffing freak! I absolutely love stuffing, not just on Thanksgiving, but any time of the year. I have always made the stuffing from the box, and kind of spruced it up with my own special touches, but this one takes the cake. It is so easy to make from scratch, and it comes out so moist and delicious, you will never want to buy the boxed stuff again. The combination of the sausage and cranberries is so good, you will be pleasantly surprised. You get a sweet and tangy flavor from the cranberries, and a sweet but savory flavor from the sausage. Don't like either of those things? Leave them out and proceed with the recipe without them.

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18