Favorite kind of dressing/stuffing?

My mother always makes the dressing every Thanksgiving, and everyone loves it. She does the standard cornbread, chicken broth, sage, poultry seasoning, celery, onions, etc. I would like to experiment and change things up a little. I have always wanted to try dressing with ground sausage in it. It sounds so good. My mother disagrees. I found a recipe that uses sausage and Hawaiian bread instead of cornbread. I love Hawaiian bread. I am concerned that it will be a little too wet and mushy though, since Hawaiian bread is softer and not as dry and crumbly as cornbread. My mother is still bringing her dressing to Thanksgiving dinner. I'm just experimenting with a different recipe on my own time at my house. I would not want to start any family drama! Maybe if it turns out okay, I can bring mine next year. I'm not a great cook.

Does anyone have a favorite dressing recipe or tips for making it better?

Here's the one I've been using for quite a few years now. We no longer stuff the bird, but use the crock pot. Look in What I Do and you'll see about browning ground sausage. I also add apples.

Crockpot Stuffing

1 cup butter or margarine
2 cup chopped onion
2 cup chopped celery
1/4 parsley, minced
12-13 cups slightly dry bread cubes
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1-1/2 tsp. sage
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper
1/2 tsp. marjoram
2 to 2-1/2 c. chicken or turkey broth
2 eggs, beaten

Melt butter in skillet and sauté onion, celery, and parsley. Pour over bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl. Add all seasonings and toss well. Pour in enough broth to moisten; add beaten eggs and mix well. Grease crock pot with butter. Pack lightly into crock pot. Cover; cook on high 45 minutes; then reduce to low 4 to 8 hours. Makes 6 servings.

RECIPE NOTE:Two 7-ounce packages seasoned stuffing mix may be substituted for bread cubes. Use 3 to 3½ cups chicken broth; omit herbs and salt.

What I do:  Don't use the butter. Instead brown 1 to 1-1/2 pounds of bulk sausage. Add the onion, celery, and parsley to the skillet and saute. I also add two Granny Smith apples (peeled and chopped) to the skillet. I like to use a combination of white, whole wheat, and cornbread cubes instead of just one kind of bread. I use a bit more of the herbs than what the recipe specifies. I do not use all of the broth. I take the lid off the crock pot for the last 45 minutes and only cook the stuffing for about 4 hours.

We have never stuffed the turkey. We (by we, I mean Mom) have always just baked the dressing in the oven. I have never heard of anyone making dressing in a crockpot. That recipe does look really good though-better than the one I was going to use. I suppose it could work with Hawaiian bread, but could it be baked in the oven? I don't own a crockpot.

My mother does one with diced apples and cranberries in it.  I've never been a sweet and sour person; but it's more sweet and savory i guess.  I LOOOOVE it.  I request it every year now. 

I just can't bring myself to put fruit in dressing. It doesn't seem right.

You could probably bake it in the oven, but you'll need to check on moistness and add more broth, if you think it necessary. Cover the casserole while it's baking until the last 15 minutes or so....again you'll have to use your own judgement. Just omit the apples; I only add them because we like it that way. It's a good stuffing. 

If you use the Hawaiian bread, be a little careful with the texture as it may be a little too moist with all the broth. Just keep checking on it from time to time.

I normally make my cornbread the night before, cool it, then cube it. Throw it in a bowl with the rest of the stuffing cubes (I use a mixture of cornbread, whole wheat, and white) and then put it in the microwave, uncovered, overnight. The reason I put it in the microwave is because we have 24 paws that would just love the chance to play in a bowl full of bread cubes! 

I would love to put cranberries in my stuffing, but the guys would throw a fit. I love cranberries. When I stuff pork chops, I always add a handful of raisins to the apples in the stuffing.

I have always used a combination of cornbread and a stale loaf of Italian bread from the bakery.  I am not a huge lover of sausage in stuffing.  I do often add some chopped toasted pecans to dressing and I do add some finally chopped tart apple.  I think dressing or stuffing becomes kind of a family tradition thing.  I used to make stuffing but switched to dressing.  I kind of filter out the health warnings about food but the one about dressing being safer than stuffing is one that made sense to me so I switched to dressing.  I do bake it in the oven and do often add a little more broth about half way through.  Of course I also add the sauteed onions, celery and herbs.