I made a stuffing this year for Thanksgiving that turned out delicious. It smelled good, flavorful, easy to assemble and very flexible. After the holiday, we'd warm up some tortillas, place some stuffing in the tortilla with a toss of cheese...made a quick snack or meal. Mmmm.
This recipe is from the La Brea Bakery and uses three types of croutons from their breads: Cracked-Grain Bread, Rosemary-Sage Corn Bread and Country White Bread. I used their herb-seasoned croutons made from the aforementioned breads. You can substitute it with your own homemade or store bought, herb flavorful croutons.
For variation, I added mushrooms and sausage. The variation suggestion called for Italian sausage, but I used the hot & spicy Jimmy Dean sausage.
It was delicious and between my husband and I, there was nothing wasted. We ate all the leftovers!
La Brea Bakery Harvest Blend Stuffing w/Sausage & Mushrooms
Serves 10 to 12
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1/2 tsp.salt
Freshly ground pepper; to taste
9 1/2 cups La Brea Bakery Harvest Blend Stuffing OR herb-flavored croutons
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
4 cups chicken broth, warmed
1 lb. cremini mushrooms, quartered (optional)
1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed (optional) Note: I used hot & spicy Jimmy Dean sausage
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a fry pan over medium heat, warm 2 Tbs olive oil. Add the onion celery, salt and pepper and sauté until soft and translucent, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a very large bowl.
In the same pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add 1 lb. quartered cremini mushrooms and cook until well browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the onion mixture. Return the pan to medium-high heat and cook the sausage, crumbling the sausage with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer the cooked sausage to the bowl with the onion mixture.
Add the stuffing/croutons, cranberries and pecans and stir until well combined. Stir in the stock 1/2 cup at a time, make sure it is completely absorbed into the croutons and does not pool in the bottom of the bowl. Taste a crouton; it should be moist throughout, but not crunchy or mushy. You may not need all the stock.
To bake the stuffing alongside the turkey, transfer the prepared stuffing to a buttered 3-quart baking dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is golden brown and crisp, about 25 to 35 minutes more. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
To bake the stuffing inside the turkey, let the stuffing cool to room temperature, then spoon it loosely into the body and neck cavities of the turkey immediately before roasting. Be sure the stuffing reaches 165 F after roasting.
Teenie Cakes aka TeenieCakes
