My in-the-bird stuffing is onion and celery sauteed in butter with chicken broth added. I use white bread, which was broken the night before. Toss with the cooked celery and onion mixture and season with salt and pepper and sage...lots of sage. I add additional broth if needed until it feels right. We like it moist. I have added apple, dried cherries, eggs and sausage on occasion but really prefer plain the best.

Oh, I don't "loosely spoon into the cavity", I pack it in tightly.

Nancy

Me, too Nancy! I am determined to get every last bit of stuffing in that sucker! I pack it in there!

It is also the only time I buy the really long loaf of store brand white bread.

Here's mine...and I do pack it in tightly as well:

My Turkey Dressing

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.
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.

SharonCb

I do two kinds of stuffing! The main cavity gets a stuffing made of bread, onions, celery, herbs, lots of pepper, pecans if I think I can get away with it :-) (DH doesn't care for them) and eggs. The neck cavity gets a sausagemeat stuffing with onions, herbs, pepper, breadcrumbs, eggs and white raisins.

Here are 4 recipes I use depending on requests. Two are from my family and two are newer adaptions I have used for the last 20 years or so.

Memere & Moms Thanksgiving Stuffing

1 lb. sausage meat
3 stalks celery, diced fine
1 lg. green pepper, diced fine
1 lg. onion, diced fine
12 oz. fresh mushrooms, diced fine
1 lb. package Herb Stuffing Mix
(Memere used toasted stale bread cut in ½" cubes and added 1½ tsp. sage and thyme.)
Liver and heart from turkey, cooked and minced.

Scramble sausage meat until no pink shows. Remove meat from fat. Sauté vegetables in sausage fat until crisp tender. Remove from fat. In a large bowl, mix meats, vegetables and stuffing mix. Add boiling water until stuffing is desired consistency. Cool stuffing. Stuff turkey just before cooking.

My Turducken Stuffing

1 lb. androuille sausage, diced
1 cup cooked wild rice
3 cups cooked pecan rice
1 medium onion, diced
1 sweet yellow pepper diced
1 sweet red pepper diced
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tbs. chili powder

Sauté vegetables in non-stick fry pan until crisp tender. In a large bowl, mix sausage, rice, vegetables, garlic, chili powder.

Grand Memeres Sausage Potato Stuffing

1lb. pork sausage roll
1 tbs. oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 medium celery stalks, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. each of dried sage and thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
5 lbs. potatoes, peeled
Chicken or turkey stock to just cover potatoes for cooking.

Simmer potatoes in stock until just cooked (do not over cook) drain and rice. (Or dice potatoes in ½" dice prior to cooking.)
Combine sausage meat in a large bowl and break up with a fork; season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, add oil and saute onion, celery, and mushrooms for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Season to taste with, fresh or dried sage, thyme, and oregano. Add meat mixture and cook over medium heat until sausage is cooked and lightly browned. Drain fat. Add the meat /vegetable mixture to the potatoes. Mix well and refrigerate. If using to stuff a turkey, chill thoroughly before filling the bird. If baking on the side, proceed as follows. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the dressing in a large covered casserole for 1 hour. Remove the cover and bake for another 20 minutes to brown the top.

My Harvest Stuffing

1 lb. ground pork
3 stalks celery, diced fine
1 lg. onion, diced fine
12 oz. fresh mushrooms, diced fine
2 Granny Smith apples, diced
¼ cup dried cranberries, diced fine
1 lb. toasted stale whole wheat bread cubes
2 cloves garlic minced
¼ cup ground walnuts
1-2 tsp. brown sugar
1-2 tsp. cinnamon
Boiling water or turkey/chicken stock to soften stuffing

Scramble sausage meat until no pink shows. Remove meat from fat. Sauté vegetables and apples in sausage fat until crisp tender. Remove from fat. In a large bowl, mix meat, vegetables, seasonings, walnuts and bread. Add boiling water until stuffing is desired consistency. Cool stuffing. Stuff turkey just before cooking. Note: If you are not cooking the stuffing in the bird, substitute turkey or chicken stock for water.