Thanksgiving Recipes

Baked Cranberry Chestnut Stuffing is my favorite stuffing recipe.  Personally, I’m not a stuff-the-turkey person.  I would rather bake my stuffing separately like in this simple recipe and stuff my turkey with fresh items like onion slices, celery stalks and butter to give it more flavor.  Plus, an un-stuffed turkey takes less time to cook.

Baked Cranberry Chestnut Stuffing

Ingredients:

1. celery- 1 leafy bundle, trimmed and chopped fine- leaves and all
2. onion- 1 large, peeled and chopped fine
3. cranberries, fresh- 1 cup
4. chestnuts- fresh, chopped or canned, chopped
5. dried parsley- 2 tablespoons
6. dried thyme- 1 tablespoon
7. dried sage- 1 tablespoon
8. either stuffing mix like Pepperidge Farm Cornbread- 2 14 oz. or 1 pound bread like French, Italian or white sandwich, cut into small cubes
9. 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
10. chicken stock- 1 10 oz. can

Celery and onion can be chopped ahead of time and stored in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Directions:

1. Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat
2. Add the celery and onion and cook until tender, stirring occasionally
3. Add the broth and heat to a boil
4. Remove the skillet from the heat
5. Add the stuffing or bread cubes, cranberries, chestnuts, parsley, thyme and sage
6. Spoon the stuffing mixture into a 1 1/2-quart casserole baking dish
7. Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes or until the stuffing is hot