Grandpa’s Stuffing
When I was young, Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday. I starts off the whole holiday season, my mom always made an incredible meal and I got to have my cousins come to the house and eat with us! Nothing could be better.
My favorite part of the dinner was my mother’s stuffing. Every year when I make it now, the smell of the onions cooking and the sage being tossed on the top, sends me right back to my mother’s kitchen, the excitement of waiting for my cousins and the childhood joy of the holidays. And the stuffing itself is incredible.
But the really special part of this recipe is that it was the stuffing that my great-grandfather used to make for my mother’s family when she was young. So the stuffing that I now feed to my children has been passed on through four generations of my family. That means a lot to me as I enjoy it every holiday season.
In addition to sharing this recipe with my family every Thanksgiving, I also share it with my friends. I’ve created a holiday that we call “Friend’s Thanksgiving.” Every November, on the Friday before Thanksgiving, I host a full on Thanksgiving dinner for around 25 of our friends. I started this holiday celebration when I moved to New York City, and I couldn’t always afford to go home for the holidays. At that time, my girlfriends had become my new “family.”
I thought, “Hmmm…why not make sure we get a celebration as well?” After all, you don’t get to choose our families, but we do get to choose our friends. And just like that, Friend’s Thanksgiving was born.
So, today, I’m proud to say that my friends rave about the stuffing the same way I did as a child. I’m so happy to be able to share it with them and to share it with the Better Way Moms community!
Grandpa’s Stuffing
1 Cup Pecans (if desired)
1 Square of Butter
6 Full Stalks of Celery
1 Large Onion
2 Cups of Mushrooms
One Large Loaf of Your Favorite White Bread
1 Tbls Sage
1 Cup of Water or Poultry Juice (optional)
Directions:
Chop celery, onion, mushrooms and sauté together with butter for about 20 minutes, or until veggies are tender.
Cube the bread (you may include the crusts of the bread if you choose) and lay the cubes out on the counter to dry out a little bit while the veggies sauté.
When the veggies are done, place the cubes in a large bowl. Pour the veggies over the bread cubes. Place a few of the cubes in the sauté pan to soak up the extra butter and then fold those cubes into the large bowl as well.
Shake the sage over the bowl and lightly toss to coat the bread with the butter mixture.
Add about 1 cup of water or poultry juice if the mixture seems dry.
Use the stuffing as is to stuff the turkey (if desired) and save the rest to bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until heated through. If you like your stuffing softer, cover it with tinfoil as you re-heat.
I prefer the top layer of the stuffing to be a little bit crunchy, so I don’t cover it.
Serves 10
Suggestion: Make the stuffing the night before your big dinner and leave it in the fridge over night.
This gives the flavors time to blend and develop. Before re-heating, fill a turkey baster with the turkey juice from the oven, and pour over the stuffing. Adds some great flavor!
Recipe From: Sarah