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Turkey
Stuffing From Scratch
Easy to make from scratch, this bread stuffing can be made
ahead of time and frozen, then thawed when needed.
Ingredients:
8 cups loosely packed dried
crumbled bread
this can be from sliced bread or a whole loaf. Preference
given to 100% whole wheat, but you can use almost any type
of bread. If you use the bread stuffing recipe on the right,
modify the ingredients accordingly omitting duplicated
seasonings. You don't want to over-season the stuffing.
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup minced
onion
1/4 cup
chopped celery
1/4 cup fresh
parsley
1/2 teaspoon
poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon
salt
1/4 teaspoon
black pepper
In large
pot or skillet cook onion in butter until tender. Add all
other ingredients and cook until heated through, stirring
often. Do not brown or overcook. Let cool and stuff into
turkey. Do not stuff tightly.
This will
provide enough stuffing for a medium sized, 8-12 pound
turkey. Double the recipe for a larger than 12lb turkey.
Keep any stuffing not used for later use, if desired.
Stuffing
Variations
Cranberry Stuffing
Add 1/2 cup fresh cranberries or 1/4 cup dried cranberries
for cranberry stuffing.
Mushroom Stuffing
Add 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms to butter/onion mixture
when cooking until tender.
Apple Stuffing
Add 1/2 cup 1/4 inch cubed apple to mixture in place of
onion. Warm butter and add all ingredients at the same time.
Do not brown butter.
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Tips:
To
prepare bread stuffing from scratch start with a loaf of
sliced bread of your preference, white or whole wheat. Don't
use a pimpernel or rye bread as these are very strong in
taste and will overpower the stuffing's additional
ingredients. Slice the bread into small half-inch or
1/4 inch cubes. Put cubed bread into a large bowl and add
herbs and seasonings to taste, and toss. Suggested herbs
and seasonings for this amount of stuffing are: 1 tablespoon
dried oregano, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 1/2 tablespoon
dried sage, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1/2 tablespoon dried
thyme, 1 teaspoon celery salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper,
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning.
Place
on baking sheet and put into oven at 250°F for 15 minutes or
until dry and lightly toasted. Do not let brown, check
often.
Remove
from oven and allow to cool. Place into sealable plastic
bag. Freeze until needed. You can gently crush the bread
cubes before freezing or after thawing, your choice.
Bread
stuffing is often available in grocery stores during the
holiday shopping period. You can save yourself a couple of
steps by buying the herb bread ready to be prepared into a
stuffing mixture.
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