Apple sausage stuffing {slow cooker}

Finished eating round 1 of Thanksgiving so I guess I need to start blogging the recipes or I'll be sure to get plenty behind.  Some of the things we made were tried and true.  I made some green beans (although I didn't steam them quite long enough and I thought I'd be lazy and melt the butter in the microwave and add the beans and stir - they didn't get coated nearly as well.  Not such a good idea.)  I also made my mom's rolls.  Sooo good. My kids call them Grandma's rolls.  Yum!  Made a double batch last night and made 1/2 into cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  1/2 for rolls for lunch.
This is the first recipe I clicked on, so it gets to be the first one blogged about.  I found this at crockpot 365.  It was surprisingly good.  We made it a bit more time consuming than necessary because we made bread for it yesterday, then homemade sausage today, but normally it wouldn't take quite that much time.  Definitely worth the effort, and not as time consuming as another stuffing recipe I have.  I like that it used regular bread. I also loved the flavor of the sausage and the apple.  They really complimented each other well.  I worried it would be soggy because Brandon decided to broil the bread rather than follow directions and he didn't turn them, but it turned out just fine.

Ingredients

• 12 cups  bread cubes (I used homemade wheat bread this recipe today)
• 8 oz. ground pork sausage (we used a homemade breakfast sausage recipe)
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups chopped Granny smith apples
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
• 1 1/2 teaspoons rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup chicken stock, plus and additional 1/4 cup if desired (we did not use the extra 1/4 cup.  Those wanting more liquid added gravy.)

Directions

1. Use a 6 quart slow cooker (or larger if you have one - this barely fit in my 6 quart.)  Cut the bread into 1/2 inch cubes and bake it at 350 for 20 minutes, flipping once, or until bread is golden brown and toasted.  (Alternately DH Broiled it on high for 10 minutes and didn't flip it.  But he did have it on a middle rack.)
2. While bread is toasting, brown the sausage and drain.  Toss the bread cubes and sausage together in the slow cooker and pour in melted butter.
3. Add apples, vegetables and seasonings.  Stir to mix well.  Pour in 1/2 cup chicken stock and stir gently to coat bread and veggies with broth.  
4. Cover and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours.  Done when bread is browned on the top and edges, and the vegetables are tender.
5. Stir well and keep on warm until ready to serve.  Add additional 1/4 cup chicken stock before serving and stir again if desired.