Apple & Onion Stuffing "Muffins"

Makes 12 "Muffins"

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 stick butter, softened
1 bay leaf
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 apples, chopped
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
8 cups cubed stuffing mix
2-3 cups chicken broth
salt
pepper

Directions:

Heat olive oil and 4T butter in a skillet until butter melts. Add the bay leaf and the vegetables and apples. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Cook 5 minutes until vegetables and apples begin to soften, then add parsley and stuffing and mix well. Pour in the chicken broth, just until stuffing is soft, but not wet. Use remaining butter and pastry brush to butter 12 muffin tin cups liberally. Use an ice cream scoop or soup ladle to place rounded mounds of stuffing in muffin tins. (Remove bay leaf when you find it!) Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes until set and browned on top.



I love a homemade stuffing, and this year we did a trial run of our typical cornbread stuffing but with apples in it. It was delicious! I also tried making them in muffin tins and that was great! On my trial run I used packaged stuffing, but on Thanksgiving we'll use real dried cornbread cubes, as well as some additional seasoning to taste, since we'll be losing some of that seasoning by not using packaged. We also love the taste of apples and sausage together. A nice Italian sausage would be delicious in this recipe! About 1/2 a pound of ground bulk Italian sausage would do nicely, or the same of sliced chicken sausage links.