topic Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing in Kitchen

Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

corvettesandy — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 04:22:22 GMT

Hi Ladies,

I would like to ask if anyone has a good stuffing recipe for the Thanksgiving turkey. That is on thing I have not mastered. I would say I am just an average cook and my family likes just a plain ordinary good tasting stuffing. We don't like sausage, oysters, cranberries, cornbread in it. I usually use the Pepperidge Farms bag stuffing and put celery, onions and chicken broth and some Bell's seasoning in it, but it never tastes good to me. One time I used the Bell's box stuffing mix, but that wasn't much better. I would really appreciate any suggestions you good cooks have. I am fixing dinner for quite a few this year and need all the help I can get. Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

Magny — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 04:31:21 GMT

Google stuffing recipes, & look for one that calls for day-old baguettes or ciabattas, and simple sautéed onions, celery, maybe carrots, seasonings & a lot of butter! The last is the secret!

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

betteb — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 04:44:32 GMT

I don't like to use a seasoning mix. I use good quality rubbed sage as the only seasoning. Also, make sure you saute your celery and onions in butter and dump the whole thing, butter and all into the mix.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

Magny — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 04:52:03 GMT

Anyone remember Uneeda biscuits? They made the best stuffing ever. I'm always looking for a substitute, but no luck yet.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

vaberry — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 05:00:23 GMT

onions and celery cut up and cooked until soft in butter (1 stick) I like mine still crunchy so I don't cook it until soft

day old can biscuits, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, herbs-sage, thyme, rosemary

1 egg

broth

If what you are fixing doesn't have enough "taste" for you, season it more. I like fresh herbs over dried, but each to their own. I use the neck to make broth. I add garlic, celery, lemon, onion, salt, pepper and herbs to a pot of water with the turkey neck. I simmer it for over 2 hours and the broth is what I use to make my stuffing and gravy.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

GrailSeeker — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 05:30:57 GMT

I make my own croutons using about a loaf and a half of white bread, cut in cubes. Add 3/4 tsp. poultry seasoning, 3/4 tsp. rubbed sage, 2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper. These can be prepared the night before, left in a bowl covered with waxed paper. That allows the bread to dry out a little and the seasonings to penetrate. Seasonings can be cut down on or increased to taste. Also, if it is too highly seasoned, add a little more plain white bread cubes to spread out the flavor of seasonings.

Add to the croutons 1 cup of chopped celery and a half cup of chopped onion that have been simmered until the onions are clear in 3/4 cup (a stick and a half of Imperial) margarine. Again, the celery and onion can be increased or decreased to taste. This about what I use. My family is not big on a lot of celery.

Mix into the crouton/vegetable mixture 2 eggs that have been beaten into 1 1/3 cups of milk. Add a can of Swanson chicken broth. Giblets and/or a can of cream of mushroom soup (undiluted) are optional add=ins.

Bake in a 9 x 13 inch pan at 350 about a half hour, or when golden around the edges. Or stuff the cavity of the turkey with the stuffing mixture.

My daughter calls me every Thanksgiving for this recipe. It is an improvisation from the old Farm Journal's Country Cookbook. We like our stuffing moist, and this is a moist stuffing, a thousand per cent better than stove top.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

Mustang Shar — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 06:35:45 GMT

On 11/8/2014 NYCMarian said: Anyone remember Uneeda biscuits? They made the best stuffing ever. I'm always looking for a substitute, but no luck yet.

Now THAT was a cracker! Yes, I liked them...wish they would come back. But never though if using for stuffing.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

ECBG — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 06:36:49 GMT

I use the Herb P Farms stuffing. I put the celery and onions in chicken broth and microwave twenty minutes with a stick of butter and about two tablespoons of poultry seasoning. I put that in the bowl with the stuffing and only add broth and butter to finish equaling the package directions.

I did the homemade dressing one year and my family felt it was more like a cornmeal pudding. It was too fine for their tastes. They like a little more substance.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

dobiesrule — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 06:43:08 GMT

I have an excellent, IMHO, recipe handed down from my mother. However, it is the old Southern cornbread dressing. I make it every Thanksgiving.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

Mustang Shar — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 06:44:00 GMT

On 11/8/2014 GrailSeeker said:
I make my own croutons using about a loaf and a half of white bread, cut in cubes. Add 3/4 tsp. poultry seasoning, 3/4 tsp. rubbed sage, 2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper. These can be prepared the night before, left in a bowl covered with waxed paper. That allows the bread to dry out a little and the seasonings to penetrate. Seasonings can be cut down on or increased to taste. Also, if it is too highly seasoned, add a little more plain white bread cubes to spread out the flavor of seasonings.

Add to the croutons 1 cup of chopped celery and a half cup of chopped onion that have been simmered until the onions are clear in 3/4 cup (a stick and a half of Imperial) margarine. Again, the celery and onion can be increased or decreased to taste. This about what I use. My family is not big on a lot of celery.

Mix into the crouton/vegetable mixture 2 eggs that have been beaten into 1 1/3 cups of milk. Add a can of Swanson chicken broth. Giblets and/or a can of cream of mushroom soup (undiluted) are optional add=ins.

Bake in a 9 x 13 inch pan at 350 about a half hour, or when golden around the edges. Or stuff the cavity of the turkey with the stuffing mixture.

My daughter calls me every Thanksgiving for this recipe. It is an improvisation from the old Farm Journal's Country Cookbook. We like our stuffing moist, and this is a moist stuffing, a thousand per cent better than stove top.

We make ours the same, except I never used milk. I think I will try that and yes, eggs definitely make a wonderful dressing complete! .

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

foggy! — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 07:15:36 GMT

To me, the crouton bag in the store recipe is heavy, tasteless goo. We always use an old Family recipe that begins with cubing one loaf white bread. Lightly drizzle the cubes in a very large bowl with about 1/3C milk to moisten. Brown ground beef and chopped onions, stir in poultry seasoning (sliced celery if you like.) Combine all ingredients into the large bowl with bread cubes. Taste to see if you have enough poultry seasoning. Stuff your birds cavities. If you made too much for the turkey to hold, you can fold it in foil and bake alongside the turkey pan in the oven. The Dressing in the turkey will taste better, so combine the foil one into the dressing you take out of the cooked bird. Yum

If you're lucky enough to have left-overs on day2, this dressing is marvelous heated with some turkey, a spoon of gravy (slice of cranberry sauce if you're game) wrapped in a warmed flour tortilla.

Many of us l like the turkey burritos even better than the turkey dinner!

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

PamelaSue72 — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 16:47:23 GMT

Ground beef in turkey stuffing? I've truly never heard of such a thing.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

FranandZoe — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 17:17:31 GMT

For my regular, everyday stuffing I buy bread already cubed from the bakery. I add an egg, chopped onion & celery, some chicken broth just enough to moisten and hold it together, salt & pepper, and poultry seasoning. It's delish.

I make sausage stuffing for Thanksgiving.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

Poodlepet2 — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 17:51:41 GMT

I use store stuffing mix-usually P Farm, but there are a couple of things I do. I agree with Betteb: there is nothing like fresh herbs. I Saute onion and celery, but I also add a little carrot for color. For moist stuffing, I chop up a Granny Smith Apple: it is not sweet, but it brings a wonderful moistened. Finally, the broth....this is the one time of the year I go out of my way to make chicken broth. Do it the way you like, BUT don't get rid of the fat!!!! This is an old Jewish way, but Schmaltz rocks!! Yes, it's decadent, but it's not an every day thing. Poodlepet

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

Boehm Collector — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 17:55:51 GMT

Unfortunately I would not be able to provide a recipe as I have to eyeball the quantity of each ingredient. This ""recipe"" was concocted by my paternal grandmother (who was a phenomenal cook) when she came to this country from Italy. They did not celebrate Thanksgiving or stuff turkeys in Italy back then. It is probably one of the rare stuffings that does not call for bread or croutons. It consists of ground pork; ground beef; onion; garlic; nutmeg; spinach; rice; potato;egg; walnuts; etc. I haven't served it to anyone who didn't love it. Unfortunately it takes a long time to prepare as each ingredient has to be cooked separately.. and then combined in the end. But the end result is well worth the time and effort.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

Lucky Charm — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 18:03:59 GMT

I remember the Uneeda biscuit stuffing. I'm sure there are many recipes out there with good substitutes. My mom used them in her own recipe. Her stuffing was greenish (from sage?) and also had cubed potatoes in it. Loved it!

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

Campion — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 18:57:26 GMT

Have you tried regular bread? My mom always made her own, never bought bags of stuffing cubes and hers is still my favorite of all time. She would chop up the turkey liver after simmering it, and put that in, but most people do NOT like liver. So I don't suggest you do that. And we never liked water chestnuts, chestnuts, sausage or oysters. Just the plain stuffing.

I'd suggest Pepperidge Farm or Arnold's White bread.

/4: cup butter or margarine (I like Land o Lakes Soft Butter with Olive Oil)

2: large celery stalks, chopped

1: medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

9: cups soft bread cubes (15 slices)

1 1/2: teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1: teaspoon salt

1/2: teaspoon ground sage

1/4: teaspoon pepper; Directions

1Melt butter in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook celery and onion in butter 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Remove Dutch oven from the heat.
2Gently toss celery mixture and remaining ingredients, using spoon, until bread cubes are evenly coated.
3Use to stuff one 10- to 12-pound turkey. Or to bake stuffing separately, grease 3-quart casserole or rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Place stuffing in casserole or baking dish. Cover with lid or aluminum foil and bake at 325°F for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 minutes longer.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

chickenbutt — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 19:07:11 GMT

There are a couple other current threads about this, that might also help.

I make my own croutons using sourdough bread. No, I don't use anything stale (gross). I buy a loaf of unsliced sourdough (the round, San Francisco, style) and cut it into small cubes. Then I shake it in a baggie with a little olive oil and some herbs. I lay it out on a sheet pan and toast them in the oven. Cool completely before using so that they hold up nicely. The sour dough makes it very nice. I don't stuff it in the turkey, though (also gross. hehe). I make it in a casserole.

I also cook up some wild rice and add that in. I also add in a combination of sausage, but I know you are not interested in that.

You can pretty much just make it exactly the way you like, to your tastes. That's how I made up my recipe.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

BeckiWV — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 19:11:17 GMT

I like to add some of the drippings from the cooked turkey to the stuffing. I think that really adds a bit of flavor.

Re: Help with Thanksgiving Stuffing

Reva — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 19:48:01 GMT

My recipe is very similar to yours only I fry up about a 1/2 lb. of bacon with the onions & celery. The flavor of the bacon really amps the taste. I also use a package or two (depending on how much stuffing you make) of potato rolls and combine that with the Pepperidge farm seasoned cubes. The potato rolls add sweetness to the stuffing. Combine everything together and put in a buttered baking dish, cover and bake about an hour. I remove the aluminum foil towards the end because I like a bit of a crust on top. Everyone loves my stuffing which was handed down from my mom who was an awesome cook! Reva