One thing we always make during the holidays is my Mom's delicious turkey stuffing recipe. Yes, we call it stuffing; my Mom always stuffed the turkey. Oh, the good old days!!! She would stuff that turkey on Thanksgiving Eve with hot stuffing and put the bird in the oven to cook at a low temperature overnight. It was one of the best days to wake up smelling that wonderful turkey.
Stuffing Turkey
Now, we know it isn't a great idea to stuff the turkey with hot stuffing, and it is better to cook the turkey at a higher temperature. We usually smoke our turkey, but when we do decide to cook the turkey in the house, we still stuff it. The stuffing is made either the night before or early Thanksgiving morning. Then, let it cool before stuffing the bird.
Of course, we make more stuffing than goes into the turkey, so the rest goes into a casserole dish and is baked. There is a difference in the taste of the stuffing. The stuffing in the turkey is usually so moist with some "crunchies"! When in the casserole, the top is crunchy, and the middle is nice and moist. Either way, it is sooooooo good. Some of the reasons we stuff the turkey are just to bring back all those fun memories when Amy was little, and she would actually help stuff the bird!!! Something happened from the time she was four until now (not saying her age!). She doesn't like to touch the turkey now!!!
WARNING!!!!
This is not low in calories. We feel like there are certain times of the year we should not worry about calories. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Birthdays are those specific days where calories really don't count! Hey, like the name of our blog, "Belly Laugh Living" meaning enjoy life every day. I'm not going to feel bad for enjoying the food I eat.
Oh, and don't forget to make Creamy Mashed Potatoes!!!!! Again, calories don't count.
TIPS:
- Make the stuffing a couple of days ahead. This saves some time on Thanksgiving day.
- Save bread that you might normally toss out because it's slightly stale (NOT moldy or super old, just "next day" bread). Cut the bread into bite-size pieces, place in a freezer bag, and freeze until needed. We found this great bread made with rosemary. It was so good we actually went out and bought another loaf, cut it up, and froze it for our next stuffing.
- Remember, if you are going to stuff the turkey, make sure to COOL the stuffing. And add additional time to cooking the turkey.
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Old Fashion Stuffing/Dressing
A Few Things We Use
Ingredients
- 8 Cups Bread Use your favorite bread. We use Rosemary sea salt bread or white bread.
- ¾ Cups Butter
- 3 Ribs Celery
- 1 Onion
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Oregano Or ½ Tablespoon Dry Oregano
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Sage Or ½ Tablespoon Dry Sage
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Chicken bouillon
- 2 Cups Chicken Broth
- 3 Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven to 350 degrees. Cut Bread into bite-size pieces
- Chop the Onion, Celery, Sage, and Oregano
- Melt Butter in large sauté pan
- Add onion and celery to butter and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Until the onion is translucent. Add Salt, Pepper, Oregano, Chicken Bouillon, and Sage. Sauté for one minute
- Turn off the heat. Stir in bread
- Add the Chicken Broth one cup at a time. If needed, add additional broth, ½ cup at a time, until all the bread is moist. (we usually need a total of 2 cups). Stir in the 3 Eggs.
- Place the stuffing in a casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes until crunchy on top.
- Enjoy!!!!!
Anne says
I'm so excited to make this. From your photos, the consistency looks just like my grandma's dressing, yay!! There's no toasting or baking the bread? Just day old bread cut in pieces?
Sue says
This is my mom's recipe. We always use day-old bread and just cut it into chunks—no need to toast or bake it. Mixing different types of bread really adds a fun twist to the dressing! Our grocery store bakery near us makes fresh bread with rosemary, and it's just so good. I really hope I can find it again this year! I truly hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. My mom would be over the moon to know that you’re making her stuffing!