Recipe: Southwestern Cornbread Stuffing

Southwestern Cornbread Stuffing

4 tablespoons butter
3 onions, chopped coarsely
1 cup celery, chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans chopped green chiles
2 recipes cornbread (about 6 cups)
plus crumbled leftover biscuits, if any
3 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon sage
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 pounds spicy sage-flavored bulk sausage
2 eggs, beaten
Generous shake cayenne pepper
4 cups chicken broth

Break cornbread into small pieces and crumbs. Spread on cookie sheet and dry. Bake at 250 degrees F for 45 minutes or so if they're not dry enough.

Grease a 4-quart baking dish.

In a large skillet saut in butter the onion, celery, garlic, green chile, cumin and sage until lightly browned. Set aside.

In same skillet, fry sausage and red bell pepper, breaking sausage up with fork. Cook until sausage is lightly browned. Drain any grease. Toss onion mixture and sausage mixture with cornbread, adding the cayenne pepper (or 4 small dried hot chiles) and the beaten egg.

Spoon into greased baking dish, pour chicken broth over, and bake at 350 degrees F for about half an hour, covered, then return to oven, uncovered, for another 10 or 15 minutes.

Makes 12 to 18 servings