Cornbread-(Vegetarian) Sausage Stuffing

It's no secret... I love bread! Naturally, this meant that I always looked forward to the stuffing on Thanksgiving. I wasn't super enthusiastic about Stove Top stuffing, or the stuff that came out of the bird, but once per year, my Mom would use cubes of fresh Italian bread as the basis for our stuffing. Then, she'd add the magic ingredient... sausage! Then this casserole of fresh bread and sausage got baked in the oven along side the bird, for a really killer result. The taste of sausage with the baked fresh bread is really something special. Last year, I made lentil stuffing, which was good, but not quite the same. So this year, I decided to commit to it and buy a package of Trader Joe's spicy Italian vegetarian sausage. You know from my recipes that I'm not a huge fan of these processed meat substitutes, but this one exception was worth it!

Cornbread-(Vegetarian) Sausage Stuffing

Double recipe of Cornbread
1 package Trader Joe's spicy Italian sausage (or any other vegetarian sausage you like)
2 leeks, chopped into coins, then in half
2 stalks of celery, diced
1c water with 1/2T Vegemite or 1 cube bullion (double this for a more moist stuffing)
garlic, black pepper and parsley to taste (~1T each)

1. Bake cornbread. Let cool, and cut 2/3 of the loaf into 1 inch cubes. (The remaining 1/3 can be left in large cornbread sized pieces to be brought as a bonus or for your own consumption!) 
2. Preheat oven to 350F (or leave on after cornbread has cooked)
3. Slice sausage into 1cm thick discs. Brown in a skillet on the stovetop. 
4. In a large bowl, add the bread cubes, browned sausage, vegetable broth, died leeks and celery, and spices. Stir to evenly coat everything. 
5. Add to greased cassarole dish. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F covered.
Enjoy! Homemade green bean casserole is on tap for tomorrow!