It’s Thanksgiving week and the turkeys are here! What’s left to make? Many of us have pumpkin pies, green bean casserole, wild rice hotdish, sweet potatoes, but what about stuffing? Or is it dressing? This debate has been around since Marcus Gavius Apicius’s love of food in the first century included stuffing just about anything, including turkey and duck together as the concoction “turducken” came to be known in the 20^th century by famous American chef Paul Prudhomme.

According to the foodies out there, stuffing is technically the side dish that comes from putting the ingredient mixture inside of the turkey. Dressing is the dish made on the side, literally. Yet, when talking to a couple of local folks, I was told that stuffing is really more of a Midwestern thing. Regardless if it’s cooked in the bird or not, for the Midwesterner, it’s stuffing.

If you don’t have time to cook stuffing, we got you covered this week with our homemade recipe ready to take home! If you like making your own at home inside or outside of the bird, or on the stove, here’s an easy, tasty recipe using gluten-free bread and Soli organic herbs from the store. Yields 8 cups of stuffing.

Ingredients:

• Two hearty loaves of stale or fresh gluten-free bread, like Canyon Bakehouse (9 cups of bread cubes)
• ¾ cup butter (or dairy-free butter)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 sticks celery, thinly sliced and diced
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme leaves
• ½ teaspoon ground sage
• ½ teaspoon rosemary
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups chicken or veggie broth, or turkey drippings (3 cups for a wetter stuffing, but broth is not necessary if stuffing the bird)

Stove Instructions:

1. Let bread slices air dry for 1 to 2 hours, or for up to 2 days, depending on how dry it is. If you don’t have time to dry it, simply toast it on a low setting.
2. Cut bread into roughly 1-inch pieces.
3. In a Dutch oven (or large pot or pan) over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and celery and cook until the onion is soft and translucent.
4. Stir in thyme, sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
5. Add bread cubes and mix until evenly coated.
6. Drizzle the broth over the bread mixture and toss until well mixed.
7. Cover and let it cook for 3-5 minutes. Then, stir and cook for a couple minutes longer or until the broth has been absorbed.

Cooking Alternatives:

If you want to put this stuffing into the turkey, omit the broth and add mixture just before cooking the turkey.

If you want to bake the stuffing separately, bake in a greased 2.5 qt casserole dish at 350 for 35-45 minutes, just enough to brown the top.

*Leftovers can be stored in the freezer for up to three months!