Anytime Stuffing...Not Gluten-Free

When I was little mom would make the Thanksgiving stuffing starting two days before so all the spices would meld together. She would toast white bread and then let it set and dry out then cut it up in cubes. Then she would make cornbread and break it up and let it dry out. 

Mind you, we had two refrigerators so we could make up food in advance for big meals for the holidays. The next day she would haul out the big roaster and put in two sticks of butter to melt and then chop up celery and onions and put it in the roasting pan and cook until onions were opaque. She would add in the chicken broth, canned milk and 2 eggs. I got the wonderful task of getting to stir this up until it was all blended.  When it was mixed up with the right amount of liquid, not too stiff, but not too loose. It was time to start the tasting. 

Mom would start adding in the spices; poultry spice, sage, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.   She loved her sage, so we had dressing that had great hints of sage. There were times when if we were on a trip, if she saw wild sage, we would stop and she would pick some to use in next years dressing.  

Over the years we switched to making homemade drop biscuits made from Bisquick to take the place of the toast.  It changed the whole texture of the stuffing for the better.  I got to where I was making the cornbread with Hodgeson Mills Stone ground Yellow Cornmeal instead of more refined cornmeal made in a cast iron pan. The texture of the dressing really changed for the better. 

The recipe has changed over the years some. I now use chicken bone broth instead of just plain chicken broth. If need be, I use liquid Chicken concentrate or Osem Chicken concentrate crystals for extra flavor. 

So with that being said, let's get started.

Ingredients:

Two trays of homemade biscuits made from Bisquick. Broken up and dried out

One pan of cornbread. Broken up and dried out

Two sticks butter or 3/4 cup coconut oil

One bunch of Celery, washed and chopped medium fine

Three large yellow onions, peeled and rough chopped

1 Large can of evaporated milk

1-2 qts. chicken bone broth*, preferably home made or

Osem chicken broth crystals

Poultry Seasoning

Sage  (optional)

Thyme  (optional)

Oregano  (optional)

Himalayan Pink Salt

Pepper


Directions:

In a large roasting pan on top of the stove place butter or coconut oil in pan to melt over medium-high heat.  Add in celery and onions. Cook until onions are opaque. Turn stove off. 

Add in dried biscuits and cornbread. Stir to incorporate the bread mixture with the onions and celery. 

Crack the eggs into a bowl so as to make sure there are no shells before adding into bread and veggie mixture.  

Add in one half can of evaporated milk.

Add in one half of bone broth or chicken stock.

Start stirring with a wooden spoon or spurtle*, 

Spurtle

continue to mix until everything is Incorporated.  If dressing is stiff, add more evaporated milk and chicken bone broth until mixture is fluffy but not super wet. It doesn't hurt to have a second box of bone broth on hand.

Add in 2 Tbsp of Poultry Seasoning, stirring well

Add in 2 Tsp. of Himalayan Pink Salt

Add in a pinch each of Thyme, Sage, Oregano and pepper.

Stir well. Taste.

If you want a more chicken taste add in a Tablespoon of the Osem Chicken Crystals or Liquid Chicken Broth.  The taste from here is entirely up to you. 

Place in a 9 x13 greased baking dish cover with foil and place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes. Last 10 minutes of cooking remove foil. 

* Spurtle, is a long narrow wooden blade designed for stirring oatmeal .  It is one of the best kitchen tools I have found for mixing up a variety of items such as dressing, macaroni, potato salad, sauces, stews.  It hails from Scotland and dates back to the 15th century. I got my Spurtle from QVC. 

* Chicken bone broth is more flavorful than regular chicken broth and contains more minerals as well. Homemade broth contains the collagen our bodies needs. Chicken bone broth can be found at Walmart.