Ingredients Needed
1 large onion 5 sticks of celery 1 big loaf of bread (2 loaves if using a gluten free bread) Salt & Pepper 1 tsp – Sage 1 tsp – Thyme 1 tsp – Rosemary ½ tsp summer savory 3/4 cup Butter 1 Cup chicken or turkey stock or 1 bouillon cube*In a frying pan, drop in a little butter, heat the onion and celery until tender.
Add the butter and the chicken stock. While it is melting and the stock is thawing OR the if you use a bouillon cube, break it up and stir it in along with 1 cup of water, I cut the bread up into cubes and place it in the crock pot.
Once the chicken stock is mixed in and the butter melted, I stir in all the herbs and pour the entire contents over the bread, add salt & pepper to taste and mixed it all together. Then plug in the crock pot and let it heat up, stirring occasionally, it usually takes about 3 hours on low or 1 &1/2 hours on high. The stuffing will be moist and full of flavor.
HOWEVER, if you like to live on the edge and add MORE to your stuffing, I have added the following to this basic recipe over the years with wildly satisfying results! While the onion and celery are cooking in the frying pan add any of the following combinations to spice up your stuffing;
- Farmers Pork Sausage (it is mild and salty)
- Cranberries & Pine Nuts
- Almond Slices and Raisons (or currents)
- Dried Cherries and Walnuts
- Pecans and Green Apple Slices
- Cranberries and Orange Peels
The pine nuts and other nuts take on a roasted flavour from being warmed up in the frying pan beforehand, adding flavour of your stuffing!
You can use this recipe with any poultry, great with chicken, turkey, duck and goose! It can be doubled or tripled and will come out with the same wonderful results, just don’t be shy with the butter!
*I like to use organic bouillon cubes, but often I will use leftover gravy from the last time I roasted a chicken or turkey. I freeze leftover gravy or stock in plastic cups, pop them out and put them in a zip lock bag and take out a cup of stock when I need it. You can use ice cube trays as well.
Take Care, Cindy