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February 15, 2011

Get Stuffed!

I made a turkey dinner last weekend and decided it was high time to make dressing from scratch. In the past I have relied on the kindness of my mother to make her recipe or break out a box of stovetop. It was time. I browsed the internet and talked to friends about how they make their dressing and got some good base ideas, but knew I’d be winging it.
Okay, you wanna make my yummy dressing?
First off, get a loaf of bread from a bakery (bakery department of the supermarket, whatever) but just make sure you get the sort of bread that would go stale if left in its bag on the counter as opposed to going mouldy. The less preservatives, the better. But isn’t that the case with most foods we consume?
Okay, take your bread and cut/tear it into small pieces. Helpful hint: buy it pre-sliced!

Since I suffer from arthritis in my hands, I find it easier to use a pair of kitchen shears to get the bread into bits

Cut up a few stalks of celery, leaves and all into small bits

And chop up a medium onion nice and small

There we are... good to go!
Melt a cup of butter in a pan over medium heat

Once it has a nice bubble going on, toss in the celery and onion

Add in the following: 1 tablespoon salt (it sounds like a lot but once cooked it isn’t very strong, but feel free to reduce the amount), 1 teaspoon pepper, 2 tablespoons summer savoury, 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, ½ teaspoon sage and cook for another 3-5 minutes

Slowly incorporate the butter/celery/onion into the bowl of bread bits.
Make sure cubes are thoroughly coated. If you want your dressing a bit more moist, add in some low-sodium chicken broth

At this point you can stuff your turkey (a stuffing bag makes this super easy and tidy) or press lightly into a casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Enjoy!!

I think next time I might add in some finely chopped cooked bacon to the mix for added flavour. Hmm and I would probably reduce the salt too.
Quick note... during my online meanderings, I learned if it is going inside the bird it is called “stuffing” and if it is baked separately, it is called “dressing”.

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4 comments:

  1. That looks and sounds delicious!

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  2. I want to eat the HELL outta this stuffing!!!! I am allergic to cooking but this almost -alllllmost makes me want to give it a whirl :)

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  3. You should add a little bit of cut up apple next time. That's how my mom makes her stuffing/dressing and it is my fav!! I even suffered some pain to have it at Christmas time.

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  4. I love the idea of adding apple to the mixture!

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