For some time I have been looking for a good recipe for dressing that is not stuffed in the bird, but baked separately. I would appreciate any that anyone can pass on. Thanks.
chopped apple 1 or 2 chopped celery chopped onions chopped walnuts chop these fine/small and sautee in butter and add to stuffing add chicken or turkey also and use broth I always add about 1/2 cup of apple juice and sometimes also 1/2 cup of orange juice
oh and I chop water chestnuts too and do not sautee these
My mom made homemade onion stuffing. Can be cooked in the bird or out. 3 lbs of onions chopped and then sauteed in a frying pan till yellow and tender.salt and pepper to taste. mix in eggs and breadcrumbs. Not the big pieces of bread but the breadcrumbs you buy in the store in the can. Add nutmeg and stir well. Put in bird or pan and bake at 350 till browned. The amount of eggs and breadcrumbs you use is in proportion to how much stuffing you want.
If you have a recipe for stuffing that goes in the bird, just use same recipe in a pan. If not there are many suggested here. If it is in a bird, it is called stuffing cause you have stuffed the bird. If baked in a pan, it is called dressing. Same recipe can be used for both. I can't remember how old I was, but I was an adult when I learned the difference.
Five kids to feed, wow. You probably want something easy, fast and filling without breaking the budget.
Here goes:
1 batch of your best homemade cornbread crumbled. 1 loaf of stale bread (homemade or storebought) diced and toasted under the ovens broiler. 1 large onion diced 1 head of celery diced 1 stick of butter or margarine 1/4 cup oil 1 heaping tsp. poultry seasoning Poultry Seasoning: (sage, black pepper, onion powder, celery seed powder or salt, thyme and marjoram) 1 pound ground sausage or diced bacon (optional) Chicken boullion with 1/1/2 cups boiling water
If using meat, cook thoroughly and set aside. Saute' the onion and celery in the butter and oil. Add meat if using meat. In a large bowl filled with the roasted diced bread and crumbled cornbread add the onions and celery and meat mixture and stir. Pour 1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth over all and stir. Place in large baking dish/pan and bake in a hot oven until done. Maybe 350-375 for up to an hour. It depends on your oven, where you live etc.
For moist stuffing keep covered while baking. For crispy crunchy top, keep uncovered while baking.
I have used any dressing recipe that I've liked that directed to stuff the bird to use in a baking dish. Grease the pan and add a little more liquid to the dressing (less than 1/4 c. then bake at 350-375 maybe 30 or 45 min). Cover for part of the time, then baste and uncover to crisp the top (I like mine crispy but not burnt). Now you don't have to deal with soggy dressing from inside the bird. No one has complained about my not cooking the dressing inside, and I think it reduces the salmonella threat/whatever it is that scares me about poultry (food sickness is a horror for me, probably for all of us).
You can use this recipe from scratch or use the non-bread ingredients to jazz up a mix. I prefer from scratch, but younger generations come close with mix plus extras (cornbread one in box). This makes a large amount, for a turkey in the 20+ pound range, and contains no meat.
I use mushrooms, celery, carrots, onion, one large clove garlic, fresh sage leaves if I have it, dried sage if I don't, crumbled or chopped, bay leaf or two, marjoram and thyme and a bit of rosemary are nice, black pepper, chicken bouillon cubes (I recommend the large soft ones, Knorr type), butter and oil, and some of broth from simmering the giblets and neck of turkey on stove for a couple of hours with a carrot, celery stock, bay leaves, etc. For large recipe I'd use 3 small carrots and couple stalks celery and one large onion. Everything should be in amounts according to family's likes and dislikes.
And for bread there are two choices: two loaves ordinary bread, one white, one wheat, or 1 recipe cornbread cooked and taken out of pan to dry out a bit (night before or few hours before), plus the other bread choices, but you won't use all of the 2 if you add cornbread so you can use just one of either kind. We're talking longer loaves, not the small 1 pound loaves. The cornbread should be for a small size pan, about 8x8 and of course you can use a corn bread mix if you'd like. We use 1 box jiffy mix, though I've done it from scratch, and found the mix a better.
Cube with knife or pull into small pieces, the bread without the crusts. Break the cornbread into somewhat larger pieces. Put all on cookie sheet and put into low oven, 200 degrees or less for a while, checking to see when they feel a little dry. Not as dry as croutons, but a little crusty, crunchy, but not browned, just dried. Or you can put in oven night before for 15-20 minutes and turn off and leave oven door cracked so can dry overnight or just take pan out and set up somewhere to dry overnight.
Meanwhile mince the onion, celery, carrots into small pieces, about 1/4 inch. Mushrooms should be fairly fine as well. Saute lightly in large pan with a bit of oil and butter. Enough so it won't stick. Don't cook too long. Set aside until bread is dry enough and cool. Get out large bowl. Put breads into bowl and crumble any large chunks of cornbread. Put pan back on medium heat and add a cup of water, a cup of the giblet broth (you can chop giblets and add if you want, our family prefers not, the dog gets the giblets) and start with a 1/2 bouillon cube if large, 1 if small. Add the spices and the mushrooms and simmer 5 minutes. Taste. If it needs more bouillon, add and dissolve. Salt and pepper to taste if needed. See how many crumbs you have in the bowl. If it's a huge amount, add 1 cup boiling water to veggie mixture.
Now here is a choice point. People used to add 1-2 scrambled eggs to dressing to hold it together, which made it kind of dense. I also think it adds to the possibility of food poisoning, so I don't do it anymore.
Toss all ingredients from pan with crumbs in bowl, and toss lightly with 2 spoons. Check to see if it needs more moisture. Probably won't. Put in a buttered pan, cover with foil and pop in oven for about 40 minutes and remove foil if you want it to crisp a bit before serving.
This is a tinker recipe. I loved dressing, don't like it so much anymore, but I used to put my heart and soul into it. Make it yours. If you are having a smaller turkey, definitely cut all of above by half. 6-8 slices each kind of bread, one small cornbread, 1/2 a large onion, and so on.
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Request: Good Stuffing Recipes
Archived on 08/12/2009
Has anyone got a really nice recipe for stuffing?
Karolyn from Dublin
Feedback:
RE: Good Stuffing Recipes
I never liked stuffing or dressing when I was growing up. But then I started to make my own and now I love it. I have two different ways I do it:
Cornbread Stuffing/Dressing:
I cook a pan of cornbread and let set overnight crumbled up and left in a bowl.
I fry 8-10 pieces of bacon and drain, crumble and set aside.
I fry one package of pork sausage, drain and set aside.
I saute' in a large pot, one small onion, chopped, along with a clove or two of garlic in about 1/2 c. butter or margarine.
I cook onion just until onion starts to become translucent.
Add one can of chicken broth. I make my own using 2 c. water and four chicken bouillon cubes. You can use less bouillon if you would like.
I then add my seasonings:
salt and pepper to taste
1/2-1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground sage
1 tsp. ground thyme
Start with a little and add more to suit your taste once all is mixed together. Add cornbread, bacon, and sausage to pot and stir well just until bread is moist. Stuff inside the turkey or place into a 13x9x2 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
Cook for 30-45 minutes on 375 degrees covered in foil, then take foil off and cook another 10 minutes, or so. If cooking inside of the turkey, go by directions on the turkey packaging.
Store-bought crouton style stuffing: I follow the same recipe above minus the bacon and sausage and using the store-bought crouton style stuffing. (12/01/2004)
I use store bought bread stuffing when it's on sale. I add enough bulk pork sausage to make a 50/50 mixture-you can lightly brown sausage if you want to. I add chopped apples, celery, raisins, carrots, green peppers, onions, and walnuts. (Any nut will do. No, not relatives.) Just play with the mixture to your preferred liking.
One year I didn't make it during the holidays, because we were eating at my mom's and, boy, did I hear it. (12/03/2004)
By Fran Marie
RE: Good Stuffing Recipes
If you want a down home recipe for just plain old stuffing, I've got an excellent one. First, make your cornbread. Let it cool and then crumble 6 cups into a large bowl, add 1/3 cup butter, 4 slices of light bread, torn into small pieces, 1 1/2 tsp sage, 1/2 tsp pepper, 3 cups chicken broth, then 2 beaten eggs.
Mix with your hands really good, then add 1 cup chopped celery and 1/2 cup chopped onion. Lightly grease 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes or until it is golden brown. You can add chicken to this if you want. But when you already have chicken or turkey why do you need another meat? Plain old dressing is good. this is the traditional dressing. (12/04/2004)
By Beverly
RE: Good Stuffing Recipes
I have a really good dressing recipe. It is crock pot dressing and my family loves it. Mix two boxes of store bought stuffing as directed on box. Place half of stuffing mix in a 5qt. crock pot. Layer with Colby cheese, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, one can of cream of mushroom soup, and one can of white chicken meat. Top with remaining stuffing mix and cook on low setting for 4-6 hours.
My sisters all want my recipe for this dressing, but I will not give it to them. I take this to all our family dinners and everyone look forward to getting it. I don't give this to any of my family, so I will know that I'm bringing a dish that no one else brings. (12/15/2004)
This is a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe from my sweet little Italian mother. It's different from the usual bread stuffings, but it is delicious. Here you go:
Mom's Dressing
Recipe By: Gloria Brogan
Serving Size: 16
Cook at 350 degrees, for 30 to 45 minutes.
Combine:
4 lbs. potatoes, mashed
5 stalks celery, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
1-2 lbs. bacon, cut in 1 inch pieces*
3/4 of a large bag, stuffing cubes, herb flavor
butter, for mashed potatoes
milk, for mashed potatoes
* You can use anywhere from 1 to 2 lbs. of bacon, as you wish.
Prepare mashed potatoes with butter and milk. Fry bacon, onion, and celery together. Combine meat and veggies with prepared mashed potatoes and the stuffing cubes. Season to taste. Salt, pepper, sage and/or any seasonings you want, or none. Fill turkey. Bake unused portion of dressing in separate bowl for last 30 to 45 minutes of oven time. Depends on amount in bowl.
Description: Stuffing for Turkey with Potatoes and Bacon
Yield: 5 Pounds
Per serving: 282 Calories (kcal); 14g Total Fat; (45% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 24mg Cholesterol; 560mg Sodium
I place bread on a cookie sheet and toast in oven. While that's toasting: Saute onions and celery in pound of butter. Brown sausage. Blend all above with bread, add water as needed and poultry seasonng, salt and pepper to taste. (12/28/2004)
