Christmas is almost here!!!!!!!!
I don’t love Christmas. I just don’t. But now that we have Autumn, I am trying not to be so sucky at it and enjoy it.
I just finished Christmas shopping but now I need to wrap things tonight, so I didn’t exactly wait until the last minute. Only sorta.
Tomorrow’s project is to find a Chinese food place that is open around us. My local spot is closed. I know, what the what? They had a sign ‘Closed on Christmas’ up that I noticed when I went to pick up our typical order (Me- Shrimp Egg Foo Young, Crab Rangoon; Price- General Tao’s combo meal, Pan Fried Dumplings; Autumn- Wonton Soup < no, we don’t eat that all at once!).
I cam back reporting this shocking news to Price and my Dad. Which then prompted the whole explanation that for the past few years it has just been Price and me for Christmas, so we have been getting Chinese. I think my Dad storta understood but I still horrified him. In all of this I questioned “But aren’t there any Jewish people around?!”, and my dad informed me that they mostly reside on the East coast of FL. Damn it! So wish me luck since I really don’t feel like cooking on Christmas.
Anyway, for those of you cooking on Christmas, I have a great last minute recipe for stuffing that will rock your world.
This stuffing uses 3 kinds of bread, sausage, and fried fruit. The variety of breads add so much flavor from your typical stuffings that just use white or whole wheat bread. The herby flavors from the sausage and the sweetness from the dried fruit works so well. I used apricots but I think cranberries or dried cherries, or a combination of sweet and tart dried fruits would be great as well.
I purchased 3 boules of white, rye, and pumpernickel bread for the stuffing. I used 1/2 of each loaf so I had plenty left over for sandwiches. Besides sandwiches, I highly recommend making some homemade croutons. You just need to cut the bread up into 1/2″ cubes, coat in olive oil, season with garlic salt, onion powder, and pepper. Then you bake at 350 until crunchy, mix every 10-15 minutes. Adding some grated Parmesan at the end rocks too.
I hope that no matter how you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, or whatever, you enjoy it! xo
Apricot and Sausage Stuffing
Makes 10-12 servings
Ingredients
- 1 boule/loaf of white bread (1 pound)
- 1 boule/loaf of rye (1 pound)
- 1 boule/loaf of pumpernickel (1 pound)
- 1 pound of pork sausage (I suggest Sage variety)
- 3/4 Cup butter
- 2 Cups diced celery
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 Tablespoons poultry seasoning (I used this kind)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 6 ounces apricots, diced
- 4 Cups warm chicken broth
Process
- Cut 1/2 of each loaf of bread into 1/2″ cubes. Lay out on cookie sheets to dry out for at least 12 hours.
- In a large skillet, cook the sausage. Break it up into small pieces as it cooks. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
- Melt the butter, and combine the celery, onion, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper, in the skillet. Cook on medium low until tender and translucent, approximately 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- In a very large bowl, combine the bread, cooked sausage and vegetables, diced apricots. In 1 Cup batches, add in the chicken broth, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the stuffing to a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake for 45 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, cover with foil. Let cool a bit and enjoy.
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