Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

You will need one large and deep baking pan roughly 20" x 12" x 3".  I suggest using an aluminum disposable baking dish, you can find these at most grocery stores or online. As an alternative, you can use 2 - 13" x 9" baking dishes and reduce the cooking time by about 15 mins.

Dice onions and celery into small pieces. 

Melt 2 tbs butter in a medium skillet, add the minced garlic and saute for about 2 mins. Add the onions and celery, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes, then remove from heat.

Place sausage in a hot skillet over medium heat, break into bite size chunks, cook until well done, then remove from heat. 

Core and dice apples into 1/2 inch pieces.  

In a very large bowl (I use my largest boiling pot), add the cubed stuffing, chicken both and 10 tbs melted butter.  Mix to incorporate the liquid into the stuffing cubes.

Add the apples, cooked onions, celery and sausage then mix to get all ingredients well distributed. Pour combined mixture into a greased baking dish.

Mixing all of this together can be a workout, feel free to break this into a few smaller batches and then combine the batches in the baking pan.

Place on center rack of the preheated oven and bake for about 90 mins.  After about 60 mins the top should begin to get golden brown.  If you like a crunchy top, continue uncovered just check every 10 mins to ensure it's not getting too dark.  If you are not a fan of the crunchy top, simply cover with aluminum foil and return to oven for the remaining time.

Serve covered with gravy or alone. 

I hope this becomes a favorite for your family holiday meals like it has for ours!

During busy holidays, this stuffing can be cooked a day in advance. Simply reheat in the microwave just before serving!