This can be prepared ahead of time and then heated for 30 minutes before meal time. If you want to use ground chicken, turkey, or pork, add about ½ teaspoon of fennel and ½ teaspoon of salt to it when cooking it.Some additions I like to sneak in are raisins, walnuts, and chopped apple (skinned first). If you do use these additions, add them to the pan when cooking the celery and onions.For the herbs, I add them to a food processor to get them finely chopped. If you don't have soup broth you can use dairy-free milk or apple juice, however the stuffing will be sweeter with the juice.If you're baking the stuffing, a 9-inch by 13-inch works, or something a bit smaller in size works as well.
Place the cornbread cubes on cookie sheets and toast them in a preheated oven at 350°F/ 175° C for about 5 minutes, or until they start to brown.
Take the bread cubes out of the oven to cool. Leave the oven on for the dressing.
In a large frying pan on medium heat, cook the ground sausage, breaking it up and stirring often so it is in small pieces.
Put the sausage aside, and place the butter in the pan to melt.
Place the onions, mushrooms, and celery in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions start to become clear.
Crumble half the cornbread cubes and leave the other half as cubes. I crumble them in my hand, but you can also give them a quick whirl in a food processor.
Transfer the stuffing and frying pan mixture to a large mixing bowl and blend in the parsley, thyme, sage, soup stock, and salt and pepper to taste.
If you’re baking this as a dressing, transfer the stuffing to a greased baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. If you’re using it as stuffing, add it to the cavity of a turkey or other poultry. A 9-inch by 13-inch works, or something a bit smaller in size works as well.