My favorite stuffing has dried cranberries (or whole berry cranberry sauce) and sausage, but I also make a bowl without sausage (or chicken broth) for my vegetarian son-in-law and it still tastes good (or so I'm told). I think the cranberries, along with the usual celery and chopped onion, etc, are a nice variation.

Cornbread, onions, celery, chopped boiled eggs, sage. I also enjoy chunks of chicken in it.

50/50 cornbread & sourdough; celery; onion; a bit of grated carrot; diced Granny Smith apple; sausage; cranberries; sage; thyme; eggs (binder); S/P; & chicken broth.

/tricia

Sauted celery and onions in butter,if you want it rich or chicken stock for reduced fat. Mixed with fresh bread, torn into bite size pieces. Add lots of poultry seasoning, s&p. Add addition chicken stock to moisten or a beaten egg.

Two years ago our Canadian friends joined us for U.S. Thanksgiving. They absolutely loved true southern cornbread dressing! They insisted on taking the recipe home with them. Usually cornbread dressing has bacon in it, but that could be eliminated easily.

Thank you everyone:) Two of you mentioned cornbread which is something I've never considered..I just finished reading the cornbread post and my mouth is watering! It's been ages since I ate some!

Nope . no cornbread for this Canadian.

I'm with gina.....

Saute celery and onion in lots of butter, day old bread chunked up, lots of sage and thyme, salt, pepper and parsley.....just a bit of broth depends on how dry the bread is. Personally I don't like the bread to be dry. Prefer semi fresh and no additional broth.

Here's mine:

1 small loaf stale firm bakery bread (white or brown)
3 - 4 stalks celery- including some green fronds - finely chopped
1 medium onion - finely chopped
2 - 3 lg cloves garlic - minced
3/4 medium-sized leek, white and some green tops - finely chopped
handful

Utensils needed:

large mixing bowl, frying pan, mortar & pestle (optional)

1. Tear the loaf of bread into small pieces (around 1/2 inch) into the mixing bowl.
I usually include the crust, unless the full loaf is more bread than I need.

2. Put equal parts oil and butter in the frying pan and gently saute the chopped vegetables to soften a little - about 5 minutes:
- celery, onion, leek, garlic, parsley. Note: if using optional sausage mixture, add it here as well.

3. Add these to the bread crumbs in the mixing bowl. Add a little more butter to the pan and
put in the sliced mushrooms. Cook gently for a couple of minutes to soften then add them
to the mixing bowl.

4. Put the dried sage & thyme in the mortar with the salt & pepper and optional poultry dressing spice.
Grind all together to release the aromas of the mixture, then add it to the mixing bowl, stirring it in.

5. Prepare chicken broth - either fresh or using hot water & stock cubes or powder.

6. Add the stock to the mixing bowl a little at a time, mixing well with fork, stopping when half the
liquid has been added. Check that the mixture is not becoming too wet. Add the rest of the
liquid in very small amounts and keep stirring and checking that it is moist but not wet.
A wet dressing becomes even wetter when it's stuffed inside the turkey so don't overdo the liquid.
You may not need it all.

7. Let dressing rest and cool a few minutes then either stuff the turkey, neck and bottom cavities or cook the dressing
separately on a foil covered baking pan in the oven, opening the foil a little to allow the top to crispen if desired.
I cooked my dressing in the oven at the same time as I did the turkey breast, about 1 hour at 325F.
You may need a shorter time - just check it after 40 minutes.

Note: The time I made this and took the above photo I had been in bed with the flu.
I didn't get out to buy fresh mushrooms so used a tin of very small whole baby mushrooms.
I always prefer to use fresh.

SharonCb

I like cornbread dressing as well. I saute chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, parsley add it to the ground cornbread ans season with, poultry seasoning, salt/pepper using chicken stock to flavor it. I don't stuff the turkey though because of salmonella.

I've been making Marilyn's recipe since the first time I tried it a few years ago cause I think its terrific. She uses half corn bread and half white bread, but I prefer all white bread. Don't know if you consider sausage red meat :)

Bread and Sausage Stuffing (Marilyn)

2 pounds white bread
2 pounds pork sausage
6 stalks celery; chopped
2 onions; chopped
1 cup butter
2 teaspoons dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic; minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 eggs
6 cups chicken stock

Cut bread into cubes and lay out to dry. In a large skillet, cook sausage until well browned; place in a large mixing bowl along with drippings. Cook onions and celery in butter until tender but not brown. Add all ingredients to the large bowl along with the sausage. Stir together well and pour into a greased 9X13X2-inch baking dish and bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes until puffed and golden but not too dry.

This is my all time favorite stuffing - takes a little more work but it is truly amazing. Comes from 150 Best American Recipes cookbook:

WILD MUSHROOM STUFFING
(Serves 12)

1 two-pound loaf of peasant bread, crusts removed and bread cut into
1 l/2 inch cubes
l/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
l/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms (about 1 oz.)
1 cup boiling water
1 l/2 cups hazelnuts (about 6 oz)
16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
2 large shallots, minced
2 lbs. mixed while mushrooms, wiped clean, stem ends trimmed, and
mushrooms finely chopped
3 cups turkey broth
1 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries (about 4 oz)
l/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp. chopped fresh sage

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter 2 large baking dishes.
On two large rimmed baking sheets, toss the bread cubes with oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

In a small heatproof bowl, soak the dried porcini in the cup of boiling water until softened, about 20 minutes. Rub the porcini to remove any grit, then remove them from the liquid (save liquid) and coarsely chop. Slowly pour the soaking liquid into a small saucepan, leaving behind any grit (I use a small strainer). Boil the liquid over high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Spread the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for about 12 minutes, or until richly browned. Transfer to a kitchen towel and let cool completely. Rub the hazelnuts in the towel to remove their skins (some skins will remain dont worry about it). Coarsely chop and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) of butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Scrape the onion-celery mixture into a very large bowl. In the same skillet, melt the remaining 12 Tbsp (l l/2 sticks) of butter over medium high heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms and the porcini and their reduced soaking liquid. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over high heat until the liquid evaporates, about 15 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the onion mixture, along with the toasted bread cubes, turkey broth, hazelnuts, dried cranberries, parsley, thyme and sage. Toss well and season with salt and pepper to taste. The stuffing can be made ahead, covered and refrigerated for 1 day, or frozen for up to a month.

Spread the stuffing in the 2 prepared baking dishes and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until heated through. Uncover and bake until crusty, about 25 minutes more. If the stuffing is made a day ahead and refrigerated, it will take slightly longer to bake.

TURKEY BROTH

7 lb. turkey parts, such as wings, thighs and drumsticks
14 cups water
Reserved turkey neck and wing tips
1 large onion, thickly sliced
1 large carrot, thickly sliced
1 large celery rib, thickly sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large roasting pan, roast the turkey parts, turning occasionally, for about 1 hour, or until well browned. Transfer to a large pot. Set the roasting pan over 2 burners. Add 3 cups of the water and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Transfer to the pot. Add the turkey neck and wing tips, if using, to the pot, along with the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, salt, several pinches of pepper, and remaining 11 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for about 2 l/2 hours. Strain the broth and skim off the fat before using.

I usually make the stock ahead of time and either refrigerate or freeze it, depending on when I make it. I use 3 cups of the stock for the dressing and the rest for the gravy, as it makes wonderful gravy too! But if you are pressed for time, you could surely use good canned chicken broth.

If you cant find hazelnuts, you can substitute pecans (be sure to toast them). And if you cant find wild mushrooms, you can use button & portabella, they just wont have quite the same flavor (although theyll still be very delicious). At holiday time, our Bay Bakery sells their peasant bread already de-crusted, and tossed with olive oil and baked a wonderful time saver.

Personally, my grandmothers Peanut Butter Stuffing/Dressing...

I LOVE IT!!!!!

Peanut Butter stuffing????? Do tell.

I like wild rice in my stuffing. Don't really use a recipe, tho. Basically, celery, onion, bread crumbs, butter, wild rice, a little broth to moisten. Sometimes I'll add sausage, sometimes I chop up the giblets really fine and add them, some poultry seasoning, salt & pepper.

Maybe some day I should write it all down for the kids.

Linda

Mines basically the same as Sharon's (Chase). I use fresh sage, parsley and lots of black pepper.

I actually like cornbread stuffing too. And I make it the same way with a mixture of homemade cornbread and white bread cubes. And again fresh herbs and lots of black pepper.

Ann

Linda, I'll write about it tomorrow..off to a Little League Meeting in a few minutes..

Italian Dressing

1/2 cup oil
3 onions chopped fine
2 cloves garlic
2 cups celery chopped
15 slices bread toasted and cubed
4 sprigs of parsley
1 lb Morning Star Spicy Bean Burgers cooked and crumbled. Or you can use hamburger
1 tsp fennel seed
3 eggs
3/4 cup Romando cheese grated
1/4 cup butter
salt, pepper, oregano to taste
add water if dressing seems to dry.

Cook bean burgers and crumble set aside.

Combine oil, eggs butter, and all spices. Add in toasted bread. Add in Romano cheese and mix well. Place in greased dish. I use a covered dish until the last 15 minutes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Classic bread and sage is tops for me.

French or Italian bread, lots of chopped celery, onions, pepper, salt, celery seed, some oregano, thyme, basil, melted butter, and LOTS of sage and black pepper.

Then there's also another favorite of mine...

Sausage and apple. Especially good in ducks.

My favorite recipe includes a pan of cornbread, a bag of Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing Mix, a pound of sausage, chopped Granny Smith apple, sauteed onion and celery, s&p, heavy on the sage or poultry seasoning, and chicken broth.

My mom always makes the dressing/stuffing, which is not put in the bird, and hers is just the best.

Wow! You're all fantastic! Thank you for sharing your recipes:)

Okay Peanut Butter Stuffing...
There isn't a set recipe..it's just cook for your family...LOL My mom learned at my grandmothers side, and I learned at my moms. My grandmother was from Virginia, however she was also an Army Officers daughter,so they traveled alot. She raised her family in Upstate NY in a small dairy farm valley, that was owned mostly by her husband's family. (Yeah the whole VALLEY!) So the origin is unknown exactly.

But usually it goes like this.

Peanut Butter Stuffing
stick of butter
1/2 c peanut butter, creamy, crunchy..whatever
~tip equal amounts of butter and peanut butter, whether going up or down
1 onion diced
2-4 stalks of celery diced
fresh garlic if you like 2-4 cloves diced
palm full of dried sage
half a palm full of poultry seasoning, if you want
many cranks of black pepper
2-3 pinches of kosher salt
Melt the butter and peanutbutter in a large saute pan. Add in the veggies and above seasonings.
Saute until the veggies are translucent.
Add in 2-3 cups of chicken stock/broth to thin the "sauce".
Have dried bread cubes ready in a big bowl. 6-8 cups worth.
Pour sauce over cubes and toss. What you are looking for is a softening edge to the bread, but not "squidgy" bread. If the sauce wasn't enough toss more broth through until all the bread cubes have soft edges. Toss in 1/2-1 c chopped peanuts..party, roasted..whatever (just not candied) LOL

My mom always did enough for stuffing the turkey and for a 4c or so casserole dish. She always poured more chicken broth over the casserole before baking..
I love this stuff..
I love it cooked, but I'll eat more than enough for 2 weeks worth of meals as I'm prepping it! LOL

My husband's--it's a basic bread crumb, onion, celery, etc. but he adds chopped apples that have been sauteed in applejack or strong cider. He also uses the cider in the gravy.

My dressing is half and half of bread and cornbread. I saute chopped onion, celery, and green pepper in butter until soft. I then mix it with the bread and cornbread, put a couple of chopped boiled eggs in with the mixture, and pour enough chicken broth or water over till it is moist enough but not too wet and bake it in the oven after the turkey comes out of the oven.
I do not put fruit of any kind in it, hubby doesn't like it.

I'm a lot like what some others have posted. I do love trying various stuffings but for the holidays, we like our traditional which is just with day old white bread, onion, celery in butter with some broth, etc. like others have already posted. But I want a MOIST stuffing not a dry.

I love stuffing throughout the year not just for the holidays. There are some great recipes provided that I really would like to try.

Maybe a subject for a new thread but I call it stuffing and it's in the bird not in a casserole alongside....that's dressing. Mind you I do do the extra stuffing as dressing and then mix the two together if needs be. Only difference is I add broth to the dressing which I never do to the stuffing.

Woodie, your recipe is EXACTLY what my mother (and her mother) made for the past 30 or so years. Now I make it and it is a wonderful, simple, dish. Everyone seems to love it.

After reading these, I have to say my favorite one is the one on my plate at the time!

I make stuffing much like Micheal's at our house. French bread made into Melba toast in a low oven and broken up by hand, celery, onion, mushrooms, fresh sage, s&p, some other herbs, lots of melted butter, and broth.

I don't remember ever having stuffing that did not have cornbread, but I might try it some time. In Texas, stuffing is traditionally made the Southern way, but I developed a recipe using grits instead of cornbread, to save time. My family now prefers it. If you don't have grits, you can use polenta.

Lars' Grits Faux Cornbread Stuffing

Ingredients:
2 tbsp vegetable oil or grape seed oil
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 cups finely chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth (or water)
1 tbsp soup base, mushroom, chicken, vegetable, or a combination
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 to 3 tsp dried sage (according to your taste, and how strong it is)
3/4 cup quick grits (be sure not to use "instant") can substitute polenta
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
2 cups dry bread, in small cubes

Directions:
In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil and add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the onion, celery, and garlic, and sauté for a few minutes, or until the onions begin to be translucent. The celery must stay crunchy. Add the water (or broth, if you have it), soup base, cayenne, and herbs, and stir to combine. Take the pan off heat, and add the quick grits. Stir for one minute off heat, and return to low heat.

Cover and cook five minutes more (for a total of six minutes), stirring occasionally. Note: If you add the grits to rapidly boiling water, they will form lumps almost immediately. That is why I take the pan off heat to add them.

Preheat oven to 350°. Beat the eggs with the 2 tbsp water, and then combine with the bread cubes. Transfer the bread to a baking dish, add the cooked grits, and stir to combine.

Bake covered for about 10 minutes longer if the grits have been made ahead and have cooled. If you like it less moist, you can bake it uncovered.

Personally, I don't like anything sweet in stuffing, but sage is the essential herb. I've made wild rice/mushroom stuffing for pheasant, but I don't have that very often - I actually prefer chicken because pheasant is too dry. I had to wrap it with pork fat.

Lars

Add me to the group of bread, lots of sage, thyme, and some poultry seasoning. Like Sharon we call it stuffing and do stuff the bird. We also do a couple of extra casseroles depending on how many are here for the day and call that dressing.

I add cornbread dressing if my BIL from MN will be here, it was his family favorite. The recipe I use came from Glenda or Roger, can't remember but it's very good too. Half bread cubes half cornbread.

I love, love the meal itself but then there is that traditonal sandwich the next day...oh my!!

David

How about oyster stuffing with spinach, leeks, toasted bread, garlic, a little mild cheese and some milk or cream......I never have had a recipe, I just throw it together.

Mine is celery, onion, mushroom, butter, dried bread cubes, chicken broth, lots of sage.

I use the words Stuffing and Dressing interchangeably whether stuffed into the bird or baked separately. I very seldom stuff a turkey or chicken anymore. I prefer the stuffing cooked separately.

Here is another stuffing recipe that I make occasionally. Usually when I am boning out a whole turkey or chicken. This is one of Moe's favourites. I think I might make this for Thanksgiving dinner this year.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Chicken - Deboned Stuffed Chicken
==================================
Source: Pat Davis Cooking School, Grand Rapids, Michigan
1979

Note: A Boned out Three pound chicken will feed 6 nicely.

1 Three pound chicken
or 4 Whole Chicken Breasts (not
singles

3 cups Fresh Bread - Crumbled
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 pound of Sausage (I usually use one Italian Sausage)
1/4 pound of mushrooms
1 teaspoon dried thyme or
2 teaspoons of fresh
1 egg
Butter
Chicken Broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce

1/2 cup White Wine
1 cup Chicken Broth
1 onion
2 small tomatoes
1 garlic clove
. Bone out whole chicken or if using just the breasts bone the breasts
but leave them whole. DO NOT REMOVE SKIN Save bones.

Saute onion, and garlic in butter. Add sausage, (if using link take
meat out of casing), add sliced mushrooms and saute. Season with
thyme,salt and pepper and mix in coarsely crumbled bread. Add chicken
broth to moisten. Add egg.

Stuff chicken,(or breasts) and sew up with unwaxed dental floss.

Preheat oven to 375�.

Place bones in shallow roasting pan and place chicken on bones. Roast
for 30 minutes and then add one coarsely chopped onion, and two
coarsely chopped tomatoes,and the garlic clove to the pan. Pour in
1/2 cup of white wine and 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Chicken should
sit above liquid resting on the bones. Continue roasting for another
30 to 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked. (note: Breasts take the
less time)

When cooked remove chicken to board to rest and remove bones from pan.
Skim excess fat from pan juices add the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken
broth and pour contents into blender. Puree to make sauce.

To serve,

Remove dental floss (comes out easy with one little pull).

Slice breasts into nice rounds and place 3 or 4 slices on each plate.
If using the whole chicken, also slice in to 1/2 inch slices and place
one to two on each plate. Drizzle with sauce.

Pictorial - Boning a Whole chicken