Cran Sausage Stuffing Revisited

I made my favorite cranberry sausage stuffing this year for Thanksgiving. Even though I've posted this recipe before, I thought it was worth mentioning again considering the few tweeks I made this year.

First, I used whole wheat hot dog buns. I froze them and defrosted them to help in their drying process. I also popped them in the toaster, to get them crispy. I only left them in for a short time, not long enough to brown them. Hot dog buns have a tendency to be on the gummy side and this really helped alleviate that problem. If you like gummy stuffing then that is not an issue for you. Me, I'd rather lick the bottom of the inside of my garbage can.

Second, I used white grape juice instead of red. It is very hard to find "Red" grape juice. Most grape juice is purple. I don't even know why the recipe specifies red grape juice. Well I had some white grape juice, (made from concentrate) and I figured I'd give that a try. It took longer for the liquid to reduce, but I think it tasted better than the red stuff that wasn't from concentrate. Easier, cheaper and tastier? A triple win!

Finally, I used cherry flavored cranberries instead of the normal kind. Yeah. Do this. It makes the whole dish even better. It was a total accident. I thought I had bought the plain kind. A very happy accident that I will repeat from now on.

Also I made a full batch and made it in a 9x13 pan. If you like gummy (gag) stuffing cook it in a smaller dish. The thinner you can get the stuffing, the crisper and yummier it will be. Now don't misunderstand what I'm saying, the bread was not so crisp that they were croutons. The bread was just slightly crisp. Like lightly toasted bread. Cook it how you like it though. I won't give you any grief...unless it is gummy stuffing...then I will make the noise that a cat makes when it is hacking up a fur ball.

A final note...reason 4, 063 that my daughter is an alien from another planet. At thanksgiving she said, "Mommy this stuffing is OK but the stuff we had at church was better. " I asked and they had stove top...gummy stove top. :::shudder::: Alien. From. Another. Planet.