Bread Dressing

Full disclosure:  This dressing is EZ, it is yummy …. but it is not very healthy.  My once-a-year splurge is on.

Every family has its Thanksgiving traditions.  I grew up with high-carb, not-so-good for you bread stuffing, cooked right inside the bird.  MMMMmmmm.

But ….. there are so many warnings against eating dressing baked inside the turkey!  I know that!  It is not the healthy way to go (of course all the way around, stuffing is not the healthy way to go).

So see below for the healthier, baked-outside-the-bird version of this classic bread dressing.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter plus more, if needed
2 loaves of your favorite bread, 1 white and 1 wheat  (when crumbled, about 10 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 cups canned low salt or homemade no salt chicken stock, heated to boiling

DIRECTIONS

The night before: Slice bread if it is not pre-sliced.  Lay out all the bread slices on your countertop so they can dry out.

Turkey Day:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Crumble dried bread into a large bowl.  Heat the chicken stock over medium heat in a medium-sized saucepan until it is hot, but not boiling.

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onions and celery. Stir often until onion is translucent and just beginning to brown, about 7 or 8 minutes. Stir in garlic, parsley, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and add to bowl with bread and mix well with a spoon.

Add enough hot broth to the bread mixture, stirring well, so that the stuffing is very moist, almost soggy.

Butter a 13 x 9″ baking dish.  Spread the stuffing evenly into baking dish, and dot the top of the stuffing with the remaining 1/4 cup butter; you can add more butter if needed to evenly cover the top of the stuffing.

Cover with foil, and bake at 350 until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of dressing registers 160°F, about 30 minutes depending on your oven.  Remove foil.  If the stuffing seems dry, drizzle more chicken stock over it and/or dot the top with more butter.  Return to oven and bake until stuffing is browned and crisp, about another 10 minutes.

This recipe can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated.   Since refrigeration tends to dry the stuffing out, drizzle a little extra chicken stock over the refrigerated stuffing before baking it.  Chilled stuffing may need an additional 10 to 15 minutes to bake.