Creole Cornbread Stuffing

As if the plain stuffing wasn't good enough!
This recipe is from a dietitian that I met during my rotation at the Massachusetts State WIC Office-thank you!

.

Here we go!
Cornbread (Jiffy mix ok)
1 roll breakfast sausage
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic, chopped
1/2 bellpepper, chopped
5-6 mushrooms
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp sage
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning
2 eggs
1 stick melted butter
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 cup chicken or turkey stock
Optional:
1/8 cup kernal corn
1/8 cup chopped baby carrot

1. Day 1. Make cornbread 2 days before to dry out the bread. Let cool, wrap in foil.
2. Day 2. Saute breakfast sausage. If using turkey sausage, make sure to remove the casings.
3. When sausage almost cooked (after 5 minutes), add all the chopped vegetables and herbs. Cook for 5-8 minutes.
4. Cut cornbread into LARGE blocks. Add cornbread to the ingredients and mix together. (From my experience: Cornbread naturally crumbles, so small chunks yield a "mush" rather than a distinct "stuffing.")
5. In separate bowl, mix together butter, eggs, half-and-half and chicken stock. Mix into stuffing.
6. Cover and referigerate over night.
7. Day 3. Bake 45min-1 hour at 350. Bake stuffing in a covered baking pan, or stuff inside a bird. If cooking a bird, make sure to stuff right before you put the bird in the oven, and to remove the stuffing immediately after the bird has cooled.

It looks like a long list of ingredients, but it is pretty easy! I didn't plan for a 3 day endeavor, so I skipped the overnight referigeration and crammed it into 2 days.
Why is this my new favorite? Sweet cornbread plus savory sausage makes for an easy winner. I made this for Christmas dinner, and it was the perfect compliment to our Morrocan lamb chops, roasted Japanese pumpkin, balsamic brussel sprouts, and vegetable stir fry. A little diverse? Yup. (Our taste buds couldn't make up their minds.) But delicious? Oh yeah.
Recipe Nutrition Facts
For 1/18 of the recipe, (I'm imagining how we cut the pan and served it up.) Nutrition facts estimated with Sparkrecipes calculator.
205 kcal, 10.8 grams total fat, 5 grams saturated fat, 479 mg salt, 21 grams carbohydrate, <1 gram fiber, 0.9 grams sugar, 6 grams protein.
Maybe you are balking at some of the numbers, because who really eats only 1/18th of the pan? Try decrease the saturated fat by using milk instead of half-and-half, or cut out some butter. Just remember that this rich side dish is... a side dish! So savor every bite of this Creole cornbread treat; but make vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and fruit the real celebrities of your plate.