One of my biggest passions in life is cooking. Food is a huge part of my life and not just for the eating aspect. It is a way I can let go and express myself and the holidays are my favorite time of the entire year to cook. I normally make most of the Thanksgiving dinner in my family. This holiday season I wanted to share some of my recipes. The first one being stuffing.
This is a very easy and delicious recipe. Seriously anyone can do it. This recipe doesn't have exact measurements and it really doesn't need it. You can make as much or as little as you want. This is a taste as you cook sorta recipe and trust me it will be delicious. The recipe below usually feeds about 6+ people.
What you will need:
1 giant loaf of french bread (enough to feed how many you are feeding) TIP: Pretty much all stuffing recipes require day old bread so that the bread can absorb all the flavors. If you can't get day old bread just buy fresh bread and leave it out unwrapped the night before you make your stuffing)
1/2 pound of mild Italian sausage or chorizo (Chorizo is a Mexican sausage that is flavored with a lot of garlic but you can use whatever type of sausage you have on hand breakfast sausage also works really well in this)
1-3 Granny Smith Apples (If you have a large apple just use one if they are smaller then use 3)
3 Celery Stalks
1 can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom
1 can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken
4 Cups of Swanson Chicken Broth (ALWAYS have enough of chicken broth on hand especially during the holidays you may need a little more or a little less in this recipe depending on the consistency)
An assorted bunch of mushrooms (This is totally optional but I like the nice woodsy flavor it gives to the stuffing. Portobellos, shitakes, porcini, oyster, and white button mushrooms work great in this together.) TIP: Porcini mushrooms usually come dehydrated and can be a little difficult to find. If you do happen to find it just soak the mushrooms in some hot water for 5 minutes or until they plump off and reserve the liquid for the stuffing mixture
1 large or 3 small shallots (If you can't find shallots just use a vidalia or yellow onion, I personally prefer shallots since they are a bit sweeter and milder than regular onions)
2-3 Teaspoons of garlic (More or less depending your taste buds)
1/2 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning (No brand in particular just get what you can)
1/2 Tablespoons each of dried Sage and Oregano (You can totally leave this out if you want since there is already some in the Italian seasoning I like the extra flavor)
1 stick of unsalted butter (You won't use the whole thing)
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon of parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
How to make:
1.) In a large bowl cut your French bread into giant cubes and set aside (Make sure the bowl is large we will be adding more stuff into it later.
2.) Dice your shallots and garlic
3.) Chop the apples and celery into bit size pieces (Make sure they are close in size to ensure even cooking) If you want mushrooms this is the time to chop them up and soak the porcinis if you have them.
4.) In a saucepan crumble up the sausage and cook along with the shallots and garlic until the sausage starts to brown.
5.) Add the Italian seasoning and herbs except the parsley, apples, and celery
6.) Add 1/2 can each of the cream of mushroom and chicken
7.) Stir well and wait until the creams start to bubble a bit and the apples and celery are cooked but still crunchy (At this point taste to see if you need any more seasoning)
8.) Take off heat and pour the contents into the bowl with the bread
9.) Stir and slowly add the chicken broth. You might not need the 4 cups you just want enough broth that the mixture is soft not smushy
10.) Butter a baking dish and pour the stuffing into it
11.) Top with little chunks of butter and breadcrumbs and cover with tin foil
12.) Bake at 350 for 15 mins or until the top is golden brown (After 10 mins take of the foil and bake for 5 more mins)
13.) When finished take out of the oven and let it cool. Sprinkle some parsley right before serving and ENJOY!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :D
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