Thanksgiving is upon us and brings with it so many of my amazing family and friends, I can barely contain myself. Due to some time constrictions and an impromptu “sure, I can house sit for you”, I didn’t get to cook everything I had planned. Someday I will learn how to say no to people.

Because I’m the only paleo person at my parents’ Thanksgiving Celebration, and I would never ask my sweet momma to stop making her bread filled chestnut stuffing, I make a chicken instead of a turkey. Here’s how I did it this year.

Chicken with Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing

5 ounces of chestnuts, cooked, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 cup sausage meat
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 teaspoon Bells Seasoning (use as two 1/2 teaspoons)
1 small apple, chopped
1/2 cup pecans
1 egg
3 strips of bacon
1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds)

Line a roasting pan with tin foil and preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the chicken in the roasting pan, breast up. Rub about 1/2 teaspoon of Bells Seasoning inside the chicken. This will carry the flavor throughout the meat. Too many people just season the top and forget the rest of the chicken exists.

In a medium size bowl, combine everything but the bacon and the chicken. Once you have that well blended, scoop the stuffing mixture into the chicken. Stuff it inside, under the wings, next to the thighs – everywhere you can. Lay the bacon across the breast meat, thighs – anywhere the stuffing isn’t.

Cover the roasting pan with tinfoil and cook that way for about 35 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and return the roasting pan to the oven. Cook it until the skin browns and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and keep covered until serving so the meat doesn’t dry out.

Gobble gobble giggle! Happy Thanksgiving!