recipe: turkey stuffing (t-day 3 of 4)

i won't lie... i hate stuffing. i actually hate most of thanksgiving side dishes (as a tiny tot i hated all condiments and vegetables, so i would eat plain turkey, biscuits, and potatoes ONLY for t-day, and then a slice of apple pie if i felt like having desert). as of high school i started eating gravy, but the mushy, vegetable-fulled sides are still gross to me. stuffing included. sorry but mushy bread with vegetables is just major texture issues for me.

anyway... it's still a must-have for all other humans on t-day, and i was on point to make it. the last stuffing i made was an elaborate cranberry/sausage concoction that reviews were just "eh" for, so i kept it simple and to the point this year. tried out the Pioneer Woman's Thanksgiving Stuffing. cooked it verbatim - i'm including her full-sized recipe below, although i had scaled it back by about 25% for our group.

ingredients list:

- 1 pan of cornbread (i used a box of Jiffy)

- 1 loaf of french bread

- 1 stick of butter

- 1 whole medium onion, diced

- 2 cups celery

- 4 cups lo so chicken broth, plus extra

- 1/2 tsp dried basil

- 1/2 tsp thyme

- 2 tsp rosemary

- 1/4 cup fresh parsley

- salt to taste

to make: chop cornbread & french bread into 1-inch cubes, and arrange in thin layer onto a baking sheet. if you're pre-prepping,  let them sit out for a day or 2 to get stale. if not, bake in the oven for about 1/2 hour until they are toasty/crispy.

heat large skillet over medium heat, and add 1 stick of butter. add onion & celery and cook until onions are almost translucent. add the chicken broth along with the basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley and bring to a boil. 

in a large bowl, slowly mix together the bread cubes and broth mixture. add a little bit of salt, as needed. 

if baking, bake in a greased baking dish at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden & toasty on top, adding additional broth if needed (i made mine a day before so needed additional after the bread soaked it up). if cooking in the bird, jam it up there and make sure it's FULLY cooked to temp.


the verdict (on behalf of kyle since i won't eat it (he's a picky stuffing eater, who leans toward the firmer stuffing... not the 100% moist turkey butt stuffing)): 6 ******. he's watching bad movies and really won't elaborate more on his "feelings" about it right now, but he did go back for 2nds if that helps.