Nature's Pride: Honeycrisp apple and sausage stuffing

Confession: I am obsessed with Thanksgiving foods. OBSESSED! My absolute favorite dish at Thanksgiving time however, is my dad's sausage stuffing. My sisters and I gobble it up. (LOL gobble)

So when Nature's Pride hosted a contest on Foodbuzz, I knew what I had to do. Recreate Dad's stuffing with a healthy twist and with fresh bread instead of breadcrumbs.

Through Foodbuzz's tastemaker program, I received a free coupon for a loaf of Nature's Pride bread.



I chose 12 grain because it's hearty, whole-wheat and full of flavor. Perfect for my stuffing!



I used 4 cups of bread cubes which equals 5 slices of bread.



Leaving the bread cubes out overnight so they harden up would work best but I didn't have a lot of time. I laid the cubes out on a cookie sheet, sprayed them with EVOO and toasted them in the oven. (400 degrees for 5-6 minutes but keep an eye on it.)



For the sausage, I used some sage pork sausage which I cooked with celery and red onion. I'm normally not a celery person but it gives this stuffing some delicious crunch.



Then I slowly add in the bread cubes, butter, broth and 1 diced honeycrisp apple. Put it in a baking dish and bake for 45 minutes.



The onions and the apple caramelize while cooking, leaving a fantastic sweetness throughout the stuffing.



And yes, I know stuffing isn't photogenic but MAN is it good! I ate this for dinner last night and for lunch today. YUM! Totally gets me in the mood for fall.

Want the recipe?

Ingredients

1 pound Sage Sausage (feel free to use pork, turkey, non-meat whatever!)
1 large red onion, diced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 large Honeycrisp apple, diced
5 slices Nature's Pride bread, cubed and toasted
1 cup veggie broth (chicken is fine)
1/2 cup melted butter (I highly suggest Kerrygold butter, unsalted)
Salt to taste* (I didn't salt mine)

Cook sausage, onion and celery together in a large skillet. Make sure to crumble sausage while it cooks.

As soon as the sausage is cooked through, add in bread cubes, broth and butter. Stir to combine.

Add in honeycrisp apple pieces last, then transfer to a 9X13 inch baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

This post & recipe are part of a contest entry to win a trip to the Foodbuzz Festival in November.

Bad Romance

I have a complicated relationship with jeans. I can never seem to find the perfect pair. Yesterday, I realized that my jeans were practically falling off me. I was excited because I've been wanting to buy new jeans but I was also nervous because I always have trouble finding jeans that fit.



Those were my tightest jeans. Obviously it was time for some new ones! Andy and I ventured down to the Banana Republic outlet and I tried on jeans in a size smaller. And they fit! So yay, I am down a size! Now I'm excited/anxious for my weigh-in tomorrow at Weight Watchers. And I'm wondering how many pounds I need to lose to get down another size.



Breakfast this morning was a slice of Nature's Pride Nutty Oat Bread with only the best peanut butter ever.



I love how crunchy and salty this PB is. The roasted flaxseeds are soooo good!



I also had a few bites of granola from my Foodbuzz Festival Swag Bag with chobani.



Cho-mance. I love the pineapple flavored Chobani so much! It's perfect. The tiny chunks of pineapple are my favorite part. And you can't beat the 13 grams of protein in it. I have a crush.

I have my interview for my teaching credential today so I'm off to prepare for that! Hope you are all having a terrific Monday! (Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" has been in my head all day!)

Sweet Pastrami Panini featuring Nature's Pride Bread

Foodbuzz recently sent out an email about a contest! I decided I had to participate.

I made a simple pastrami panini using only a few ingredients. The results were spectacular and I need to share with you!

1st- take sliced bell pepper, spray olive oil and a little salt and heat.



2nd- add in 2 sliced scallions, and a dash of red wine vinegar.



3rd- While the scallions and peppers are heating up and smelling delicious, mix 1 part honey and 1 part mustard. I used french dijon mustard but any mustard works!



4th- heat up your panini press



5th- put the elements together

spray your panini press or pan with olive oil/pam, add one slice pepper jack cheese, 2 slices pastrami, grilled bell peppers and scallions and honey mustard.



The bread makes a wonderful sandwich/panini. The flavors go great and it's so easy to make.



and melty cheese, hot pastrami and sweet bell peppers are tough for me to resist. Andy and I enjoyed these sandwiches while watching some football.

Don't forget to use



Nature's Pride Whole Wheat Bread. The texture is perfect!

Secrets!!!

I have a secret. I would share it with the blog world but my three younger sisters might read this blog and find out. (No, I'm not pregnant. Everytime I have a secret someone assumes I'm pregnant.)

My parents are going to take my family somewhere exciting this summer! My dad told me because I am going to be in summer school and I need to find out when works with my schedule. It's been a while since the entire family went somewhere together. I have 4 siblings. Kerry is 22, Sarah is 20, Emily is 18 and Daniel is 8. (Let me know if I got any ages wrong Sarah)

I'm excited!

Having something to look forward to, like a vacation, always motivates me. For me, it's like the light at the end of the tunnel. I love it!



I am part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program and one of the perks to this, is getting free samples! Andy and I got 2 loaves of Nature's Pride bread to try out.



I paired 2 toasted slices with chocolate peanut butter and boysenberry jam.



I loved the bread. I can't wait to try making sandwiches with it! To me, it seems like more of a sandwich bread than a toast bread. Is that weird of me to say?



along with the toast, I had some applesauce. I always feel like a little kid for eating applesauce but I love it.

What foods remind you of your childhood?

Any guesses on where we're going this summer?