Have fun with cooking Thanksgiving dinner. We have 20 family members coming for Thanksgiving, and it's my labor of love. I really do love it.

My mom makes the best stuffing (of course), so here is her "recipe" for you to consider. We don't stuff the bird, but rather bake the "stuffing" in a baking dish.

Mom's Stuffing

Saut
¾ bunch of celery including leaves - chopped
1 large onion
1 stick butter

In separate pan, cook 3 lbs. regular Jimmy Dean sausage, crumble and drain.

Combine celery mixture with sausage. Add 1 ½ bags of herbed cube stuffing. Pour 4 cups of boiling water over cubes and mix together. Add 2 cans of chicken broth and at least 1 TB poultry seasoning. More to taste.

Bake at 350 until it bubbles around the edges. Approx. 45 minutes.

here is a very helpful web page:

http://food.ivillage.com/holiday/thanksgiving/0,,1jsp,00.html

Since I first made Marilyn's recipe a few years ago, I haven't made any other and don't ever intend to :)
FYI, Marilyn used cornbread but I prefer white bread.

Bread and Sausage Stuffing (Marilyn)

2 pounds white bread
2 pounds pork sausage
6 stalks celery; chopped
2 onions; chopped
1 cup butter
2 teaspoons dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic; minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 eggs
6 cups chicken stock

Cut bread into cubes and lay out to dry. In a large skillet, cook sausage until well browned; place in a large mixing bowl along with drippings. Cook onions and celery in butter until tender but not brown. Add all ingredients to the large bowl along with the sausage. Stir together well and pour into a greased 9X13X2-inch baking dish and bake at 350° for 30 to 45 minutes until puffed and golden but not too dry.

How exciting for you plasticgarden!! And what a nice surprise for your mom.

I make mine very similar to debbie - but usually add a bit of wine or cranberry juice to it for a little kick...Oh, and sage to taste.

And I prefer it inside the bird...

Have fun!

Stacy

You'll find recipes for "stuffing" are as different as the people who make it. I'd never try to immitate my MILs, although her family loved it (poor fools, they didn't know any better).

Have you ever seen stuffing jiggle like Jello? Her "gelatinous monster" was made with semi-dried bread which was ripped into two or three pieces. Then she added some raw chopped onion and a dusting of salt and pepper. Topped it all off with water and cooked it in the oven for hours and hours. It would have made an excellent substitute for wallpaper paste.

BTW - don't use this recipe unless you are trying to reduce your guest list for next year.

I have an elderly friend who carefully toasts a special kind of bread under the broiler (never in the toaster) to make her stuffing. Only lightly toasted, not too brown. I asked her to save me a bite or two so that I could see if there was a taste difference, and I have to agree with her family, it was delicious.

My mother (as did her mother, and now me) always made the broth for stuffing from the giblets with water, onion, and dried celery leaves. She made a very light stuffing (not sticky and heavy) which included sauted onion and celery. She never put any kind of meat in it, and neither do I. She always made it with bread she sliced and dried herself and carefully cut into like-size cubes. It was well-seasoned with sage, salt and pepper. That's pretty much how I make it as well. Proportions of ingredients are all guess work. My mom had a special touch when it came to how much liquid to add and how long to bake it, which I've never ever been able to duplicate. I use sage I grow myself and dried homemade whole wheat bread. I've also used homemade rye bread, and that was a different taste, and was well received at the table. My SIL loves my stuffing, so that's a blessing....

-Grainlady

Grainlady,
Jiggly stuffing, OH MY!!

Mine is just about the same as yours, I do like a lite stuffing as well & you'll never find meat in my stuffing either. Certainly I've had w/meat, not my choice though. My Ex-SIL would make a stuffing that was like a brick! UGH!

Basically, it comes down to what we're most used to, and at TG, it's always the same. Change is good, during the year I may try something different, however I do tend to go back to what I like best.

Lucy

I recently posted my dressing here on another thread. I normally stuff it into the neck and lower cavities of a whole turkey but I've also done it separately in a covered pan in the oven when cooking just a whole breast. My family loves this dressing which I've been making this way for many years:

1 small loaf stale firm bakery bread (white or brown)
3 - 4 stalks celery- including some green fronds - finely chopped
1 medium onion - finely chopped
2 - 3 lg cloves garlic - minced
3/4 medium-sized leek, white and some green tops - finely chopped
handful

Utensils needed:

large mixing bowl, frying pan, mortar & pestle (optional)

1. Tear the loaf of bread into small pieces (around 1/2 inch) into the mixing bowl.
I usually include the crust, unless the full loaf is more bread than I need.

2. Put equal parts oil and butter in the frying pan and gently saute the chopped vegetables to soften a little - about 5 minutes:
- celery, onion, leek, garlic, parsley. Note: if using optional sausage mixture, add it here as well.

3. Add these to the bread crumbs in the mixing bowl. Add a little more butter to the pan and
put in the sliced mushrooms. Cook gently for a couple of minutes to soften then add them
to the mixing bowl.

4. Put the dried sage & thyme in the mortar with the salt & pepper and optional poultry dressing spice.
Grind all together to release the aromas of the mixture, then add it to the mixing bowl, stirring it in.

5. Prepare chicken broth - either fresh or using hot water & stock cubes or powder.

6. Add the stock to the mixing bowl a little at a time, mixing well with fork, stopping when half the
liquid has been added. Check that the mixture is not becoming too wet. Add the rest of the
liquid in very small amounts and keep stirring and checking that it is moist but not wet.
A wet dressing becomes even wetter when it's stuffed inside the turkey so don't overdo the liquid.
You may not need it all.

7. Let dressing rest and cool a few minutes then either stuff the turkey, neck and bottom cavities or cook the dressing
separately on a foil covered baking pan in the oven, opening the foil a little to allow the top to crispen if desired.
For the above photo I cooked my dressing in the oven at the same time as I did the turkey breast, about 1 hour at 325F.
You may need a shorter time - just check it after 40 minutes.

Note: The time I made this and took the above photo I had been in bed with the flu and cooked just a breast rather than a whole turkey.
I didn't get out to buy fresh mushrooms so used a tin of very small whole baby mushrooms.
I always prefer to use fresh.

SharonCb

I don't like stuffing but my family loves it. And yes, I've tried different kinds. I've tried oyster stuffing and sausage stuffing, stuffing made from white bread, wheat bread, corn bread, leftover dinner rolls. I've tried stuffing with nuts and with cranberries and with ingredients I couldn't even identify. It's all greasy bread to me.

Still, my family loves it. Mine is a basic sage and white bread kind of stuffing. A chopped onion and some celery get sauteed in some butter, then pour that over white bread cubes. Make broth with the neck and giblets, use that to moisten the bread, add some poultry seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Stuff it in the bird and bake it. There are never any leftovers (shrug) My family wants it very moist, so I add broth until it reaches the right consistency to suit their taste.

Annie

I saw this today on Food Network and it looks really good.

Sausage, Dried Cranberry and Apple Stuffing Recipe courtesy Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh
1 pound mild bulk breakfast sausage
4 tablespoons butter
3 cups sliced leeks, white and pale green parts only, cleaned well (about 2 large leeks)
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped
1 cup chopped celery with leaves
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 cup dried cranberries, rehydrated in boiling water for 15 minutes and drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
6 cups boxed bread cubes (croutons)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 to 3 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Saute the sausage in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, crumbling coarsely with the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage and drippings to a large bowl. Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, apples, celery and poultry seasoning to the skillet and saute until the leeks are soft, about 8 minutes. Mix in the drained cranberries, sage and rosemary. Add the mixture to the sausage, then mix in the croutons and parsley. Next add the chicken stock a little at a time until the stuffing is very moist. Be sure not to overdo it; it shouldn't be mushy. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a casserole dish. (The stuffing can be made to this point 2 days before Thanksgiving, refrigerated.)

Bake in a 14-inch oval or 9 by 13-inch rectangular casserole dish and place, uncovered, in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the top is crispy and the center piping hot. Remove and serve immediately.

*Cook's Note: If stuffing a turkey, the stuffing must be cold before being placed in the bird.
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Linda

I grew up on Peanut Butter Stuffing..My maternal grandmother was from Virgina, and it was what my mom grew up on too..I don't have an exact recipe..
It's basically starts out like any other..
Dried bread cubes, celery, butter, onion, poultry seasonings(either a blend or your own favorites), peanut butter, chopped peanuts and chicken broth..

soften diced celery and onion in a stick of butter. add in about 1/2 c of crunchy peanut butter..toss in your favorite poultry seasonings. When the veggies are soft, pour in one can of chicken broth. Mix well..pour all over bread cubes (About 8 cups)..toss to coat..toss in a cup or so chopped party peanuts..taste and adjust seasonings. The cubes need to have the outside fully saturated by the "sauce" but the inside crisp. If to dry, slowly add some chicken broth, tossing and tasting the make sure everything is just right.

I know..Peanut Butter...LOL

People love it..then you tell them, they are suprised the secret ingredient is peanut butter ...just make sure you don't have any nut allergies eating!

That peanut butter stuffing sounds great. Have to try that.

One year I created "Italian Stuffing" which turned out well. I used a classic stuffing recipe, but subsituted finocchio (bulb fennel) for the celery, EVOO for any oil, added oregano, basil, marjoram, and lots of portobello mushrooms, coarsly chopped.

Here is a recipe with apples and dried fruit that I think is my favorite. We've had it a couple of years now.

Blue Ribbon Stuffing
from Parade Magazine

2 lbs pork or turkey sausage, casings removed and broken into clumps. For my vegetarian family members, I used Gimme Lean (sp?)
4 C chopped red onions
4 C chopped celery
2 Tabs minced garlic
2 Tabs canola oil
2 tsps each dried thyme, sage
12 C cornbread stuffing mix
2 Granny Smith applies, diced
1 C each fried apricots quartered and dried cherries.
S & P, 1-2 cups chicken broth

Brown sausage, drain.
Cook onion, celery, garlic on low heat to wilt. Add herbs and combine with sausage. Toss all together and add broth as desired.

Makes 12 cups stuffing for 18 lb bird.

Not a big fan of stuffing either but I always put sausage in my stuffing and it makes a huge difference.

I think one of the secrets of good stuffing is to break the bread up into very small pieces and use a variety of breads too, like sourdough, ww and white and if you can find a semolina bread this is REALLY GOOD especially if it is topped with sesame seeds!!

This year I am going to try AnnT's stuffing dumpling and simmer it in some turkey broth.

Michelle

Jiggly stuffing ?!?!?!? OMG! LOL!

Usually, we just have the basic bread, celery, onion and herbs stuffing - very basic. However, this year, I will be making the recipe woodie posted - I have wanted to try it the last few years, but for some reason it never happened. So there it is - this year it is a must.

Lots of great ideas here though - I will probably make a down sized version of the one Linda posted for the next Roast Chicken event. I am the only one here that likes fruit with stuffing so it is hard for me to justify making a huge batch when I am the only one eating it.

Thanks for all the great recipes!

Alexa

Stuffing is one of those things that I don't follow a recipe for so no exact measurements. But basically the same ingredients. I always saute onions and celery and season with fresh chopped sage and parsley. The bread is cut into cubes and sometimes used fresh and sometimes I lightly toast it. Other times I let the cubes just dry out. The onion and celery mixture is added to the bread cubes and the dressing is moistened with chicken or turkey broth and seasoned with salt and lots of black pepper. I've added other things occasionally. Like homeamde corn bread, Chestnuts, chicken livers, sausage, garlic, thyme, etc. But I prefer a sage and bread stuffing.

I use my same sage and bread stuffing to make a large bread dumpling that is wrapped in cheesecloth and poached and then served sliced. That is another favourite side with turkey or chicken.

Ann

Fixing Thanksgiving is FUN! My Herbed Apple Cornbread Stuffing is very traditional, but we love it...

1 stick butter
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup celery tops
2 granny smith apples
1 T sage
1 1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
2 T parsley
pinch nutmeg
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt

1 can Grand biscuits baked and torn up
1/2 pan cornbread
2 eggs
2-3 cups chicken stock

Oil 9/13 pan. Saute the celery, apple and onion in the butter, mix in with the rest of the ingredients and bake. We make our own chicken and turkey stock throughout the year, so if you have some in advance or with the neck the night before, that's helpful to have.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes

My three kids never liked stuffing so it is just me and my hubby that eat it. So I make it like my mom did, I fix a small pan of cornbread the day before and let it dry out. After drying it I crumble it into a big bowl and toss in a bag of seasoned bread cubes. I then saute chopped onion, celery and green pepper in butter until slightly soft. Then that is added to the breads. Next comes the seasoning adjustments and chicken broth until the consistency is like we like it. It is then placed into the pan I will bake it in and it goes into the oven. If there is leftovers of the turkey and stuffing, I cut the turkey into small pieces and mix it into the leftover stuffing. I moisten it with a little more chicken broth and make a casserole out of it.