Stuffing: The Final Frontier

[Big Guy]

Whatever my wife makes, and however she makes it. :)

[SaintLouieWoman]

Ah, Stuffing versus Dressing.

So it begins...the Bread Wars. :p

I call it dressing. SR calls it stuffing. When we were in a local Amish restaurant, they talked about turkey and DRESSING. It might be a cultural thing. The Amish here are of German heritage. My grandparents on my mother's side literally came over on the boat from Germany. My father's folks were also of German extraction, although they had been in the US for much longer. Both families always referred to it as dressing.

I don't like the boxed stuff, but in a pinch will use the mix from Whole Foods. I prefer a good bread that's gotten a bit stale. I usually use a true whole grain bread, cubed. I always add onions, celery, extra lean pork sausage, an egg, plus parsley, various spices. I add chopped apples for extra moisture. It always tastes good. (Oops, forgot, I usually add melted butter for moisture).

[megimoo]

Why yes Rock, that is true. Mother used to put some of her dressing
in the turkey, and the rest was baked outside in a pan. I always liked
the dressing from the pan better.

The trick is to pour the turkey drippings over the pan stuffing as it bakes !

[megimoo]

Just don't drip any snot in it!

don't cook when your nose is running, especially soup !:D

[Bailey]

Stuffing generates almost as much passion as potato salad and the eternal Mayo versus Miracle Whip debate.

Draw your battle lines: stale bread or store bought, cube versus crumbled, cornbread versus regular, sage versus oysters, stuffing versus dressing. Sausage? Giblet? Sweet?

Choose your weapons. :p

do you put apple sauce in your stuffing? I cant stand it to tell the truth :(

[Kay]

The trick is to pour the turkey drippings over the pan stuffing as it bakes !

Yeah, my Mother used to do that too.

[megimoo]

Yeah, my Mother used to do that too.

Now is the time for you to establish a thanksgiving food tradition to hand down to your family .

Start with something simple,come up with an unique stuffing that will be remembered and leave the recipe laying around the house in several places by accident.

To start with take a survey,start a poll .


Which of these ingredients are essential in your Thanksgiving stuffing?

White bread
Rye or other dark bread
Cornbread
Wild rice
White rice
Mild sausage
Spicy sausage
Oysters
Nuts
Chestnuts
Apples
Raisins
Dried fruit
White Castle Slyders (seriously - it's a thing)
Mushrooms
Plain old Stove Top
Other (please share in loving detail below)

.................
Dressing inside or outside the bird?

Inside
Outside
both
..................
For that matter, do you call it "stuffing" or "dressing"?

Stuffing if it's inside, dressing if it's outside
It's all stuffing
It's all dressing

here's a start for your quest for a Heratage stuffing of your own .
...........

Kay's Southwestern Surprise Stuffing

One large bag of tortilla chips (about 13 ounces)
1 cup finely chopped onion
¾ – 1 cup finely chopped celery (depending upon how much you like celery)
4 cups (32 ounces) chicken broth (I made mine using Better than Bouillon; canned gluten-free broth or homemade stock would also work fine)
2 tsp poultry seasoning (mine includes thyme, salt, oregano, mustard powder, red pepper, black pepper, and sage, but you could simply use sage, thyme, or other seasoning or combination of choice)

Additional ingredients if desired, like sausage, mushrooms, chestnuts, etc.
here's where you shine..add the secret . '

6 fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 to 1 sweet onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 orange pepper, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
2 avocados, cut into small cubes
4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced (I love garlic!)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice from 2 limes
1 tbsp ground cumin
sea salt and crushed black pepper, to taste

Pour tortilla chips into a large bowl. (Do not break tortilla chips into smaller pieces. I did that not knowing any better and it’s really unnecessary. Once softened, the tortilla chips will naturally break into smaller pieces.)

Pour chicken broth over tortilla chips. Stir so that all tortilla chips are covered or moistened by broth. Let “soak” for 30 minutes.

Stir in onion, celery, seasonings, and any optional ingredients.

Pour into lightly greased casserole dish. A 9 x 13 glass dish would be ideal. (I halved the recipe and used a smaller oval casserole dish for my test run.)


Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (If you like a drier stuffing, a slightly higher temperature might be a better choice.) If necessary, you can turn the broiler on for the last few minutes to brown the top, but please be cautious. (Dish should be far from broiler itself and only cooked at this temperature for a short time.)

...................

[Kay]

I like that! Thanks Megimoo. :)
I haven't ever thought of putting tortilla chips in there.