Tasty Tuesday- Sausage -Stuffed French Loaf

This is another recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Easy Weeknight Favorites. It's a hardy meal and every single person at the table ate it and said how good it was. Which surprised me with the kids. I wasn't sure how well it would go over with them. The recipe was much easier than I thought it would be. And surprisingly enough it was good as leftovers too. I just popped it in the oven to heat it up. Oh, and I ended up doubling the recipe. Anyway, here's the recipe.

Stuffed French Loaf

1 (16 ounce) loaf unsliced French bread
1/2 pound pork sausage
1/2 pound ground chuck
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 large clove garlic, crushed

Cut off ends of loaf; set ends aside. Hollow out center of loaf with a long serrated bread knife, leaving a 1/2 inch shell. Position knife blade in food processor bowl; add bread removed from inside loaf. Process to make coarse crumbs. Set bread shell and crumbs aside.

Cook sausage, beef, and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat until meat is browned, stirring until it crumbles; drain. Add 1 cup of reserved breadcrumbs, cheese, and next 6 ingredients; stir well. Spoon meat mixture into shell; replace loaf ends, securing with wooden picks.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add garlic; cook about 1 minute. Brush butter mixture over loaf. Wrap loaf in aluminum foil, leaving open slightly on top; place loaf on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until loaf is heated and cheese melts. Cut into 4 pieces. Yield: 4 servings.
Happy Cooking!!!