The Recipe, You Say?!

I humbly apologize. How cheeky of me to rave on and on about the fantastical goodness of my newly favorite Thanksgiving stuffing! How utterly ridiculous of me to use all manner of lofty adjectives to share with you the awesome awesomeness of this delightful blend of bread, seasonings, and butter - and then leave you with no recourse but to ask me for the recipe to create your own dish of deliciousness.

How crafty of me to know that you'd ask and I'd get another blog post out of the deal! (Insert grin here.)

Without further ado, or ranting, raving, or groaning while I sit here munching on gooey left-overs cupped lovingly in my hot little hands, I present to you:

Apple and Sage Stuffing

1 small sweet onion, chopped

3 small celery ribs, chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed

½ cup butter or margarine

3 small granny smith apples, peeled, seeded and chopped

4½ cups chicken or vegetable broth

½ tsp. dried parsley

¾ to 1 Tbsp. dried sage

1½ tsp. dried rosemary

1 tsp. salt

¾ tsp. pepper

1½ to 2 lbs. bread cubes (I used soft bread cubes, bagged)

(If you use the dried bread cubes, increase the butter and broth to soften.)

In large skillet, sauté onions, celery, garlic and in the butter till tender. Slowly add broth, apples and spices and allow to simmer together till tender and flavors are blended – about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and add bread cubes a little at a time. Stir up from the bottom with a wide spatula just until all ingredients have moistened the stuffing. (I used a combination of honey crisp and granny smith apples.) You might need to add more broth if you like your stuffing particularly moist. We prefer gloppy gooey stuffing, so I did add more at the end.

Bake in a sprayed 9x13 baking dish for 30-35 minutes at 350, or until lightly browned and heated through.

And just because I love you all so much, here's my traditional left-over Thanksgiving casserole. Obviously, depending on the side dishes left over, it varies from year to year. But it's scrum-diddly-umptious every single year.

Left Over Thanksgiving Casserole

Generously spray the baking dish. Line the bottom of dish with a generous layer of your left-over stuffing, pressing it firmly to form a crust.

In whatever order you prefer, continue layering left-over turkey, vegetables, and sides.

Pour gravy as final layer and top with dollops of mashed potatoes across the top of the gravy.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to one hour, till heated through and bubbling.

Sprinkle potatoes with a bit of parmesan cheese and bake an additional ten minutes, till cheese browns up lightly. Serve with extra gravy on the side in case it absorbed into the layers.

As you can guess, this one is a recipe that you have to do "by feel" for the ingredients and how the flavors blend and how the layers "handle each other" by texture and thickness. It's trial and error, but you can't go wrong with Thanksgiving dinner in one dish :)

So, there you have it. Some goodies for you to share with your friends and family. Or, if you are like me, to hide in the back of the fridge and sneak when no one is looking. Hoping all the while that The Gang has forgotten that there's stuffing still left over from Thanksgiving dinner! Shhhhhh!