Sometimes we need tasty food fast, and using a box mix is a great way to save time, but sometimes its fun to make something from scratch for special days. Stuffing (or dressing) is an easy-to-make-from-scratch holiday food! Yes, it is a couple more steps than making a boxed stuffing, but its still easy to do, and you may end up with a new secret family recipe!
First you’ll need bread. Cutting or tearing bread into bits is a fun kid activity, so if you have kids in the kitchen that need a job, this one is perfect for them! The bread in this recipe can be slices, ends, or pieces from any kind of bread, roll, biscuit, or even cornbread. Don’t forget that corn is a whole grain too! You’ll want to cut all your bread into cubes (or tear it into similar size pieces), and let it dry. In Utah, this is easy because we have low humidity so you can simply leave your bread out to dry overnight. If you’re living in a humid place, or its raining outside, or you need to make stuffing sooner than tomorrow, you’ll want to toast your bread pieces in the oven. Spread your bread out on a tray and let it dry out in a 200* oven until its nice and stale.
Once your bread is all set, its a matter of sautéing your veggies and tossing it all together with the bread. Usually celery, onions, and herbs are in stuffing, but you can add anything under the sun! I have been to meals with cranberry, pecan, and wild rice stuffing, and other meals with smoked oyster and cornbread stuffing… there really aren’t any rules, so make what you like!
The recipe below is a good starting point, so feel free to add what you’d like to it to make it your own. Captan Create likes to cook stuffing in a shallow pan, rather than inside the turkey, so that the top can get nice and crispy and you can be sure that the temperature has reached 165* inside the stuffing. That way, you know your guests won’t get an upset stomach from it not getting cooked enough.
