No Fail Bread Dressing Recipes

HOMEMADE BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until; saute onion and celery in hot butter until onion is soft, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Put bread cubes in a large bowl. Season bread with salt, sage, thyme, poultry seasoning, and black pepper. Add onion mixture to bread cubes; stir. Pour bread mixture into a large casserole dish and cover the dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and hot, about 1 hour.

CLASSIC BREAD STUFFING WITH ONIONS, CELERY, AND HERBS

Steps:

• In a big skillet, melt the butter over medium heat; add in onions, celery, and celery leaves.
• Cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden, about 8 minutes.
• Scrape the vegetable mixture into a big bowl; mix in the bread cubes, parsley, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper.
• Gradually stir in about 1 ½ cups of broth, until the stuffing is evenly moistened but not soggy.
• Transfer stuffing to a lightly buttered casserole dish; drizzle with ½ cup broth, cover, and bake in a preheated 350° oven for 30-45 minutes (if you like crusty stuffing, remove foil the last 15 minutes of baking).

MOM'S STUFFING

Steps:

• 1. Chop onion and celery.
• 2. Saute onion and celery in butter, in a large 4 qt. (oven-safe) pot, over medium heat. Stir often, until soft and golden. This will take about 20 minutes.
• 3. While the vegetables are cooking, cut your bread into cubes. Set aside.
• 4. Stir the seasonings into the onion and celery mixture. Add chicken broth, and heat just to boiling -- do not boil.
• 5. Turn off heat, and stir in bread cubes. Toss to coat, till everything is blended well. If you need more broth you can add it here, but you don't want it too wet. It's going to soften more as it warms in the oven.
• 6. At this point the stuffing is ready to serve. But it's even better if you warm it in the oven, at 350* for 20-30 minutes. For moist stuffing warm it right in your pot. If you like your stuffing dry, spread it in a shallow baking dish for this step. This recipe holds very well, so if you need a little more time, just cover and set the pot aside until you're ready, then uncover and warm 30-40 minutes.
• 7. *Fresh or dry, it doesn't matter, just what you have on hand. If what you have is fresh, just cut it up an hour or two before you want to use it, or lay it on a baking sheet in the oven while you preheat. Use regular bread or gluten free bread, and try a mixture of two or three, like whole wheat, 12 grain, sourdough, sprouted grain, even rye, or cornbread leftovers! Chances are, if it's bread you like, you're going to enjoy it in the stuffing. I keep the heels of a loaf in a bag in the freezer just for this. Whatever is in the mix, it's always delicious.
• 8. NOTES: For weeknight dinners I just make half the recipe. The onion and celery can be prepared ahead and stored in the frig until you're ready to put the stuffing together. If you like more stuff in your stuffing, just throw it in: with the onion and celery if it needs cooked, or with the broth at the end if it doesn't. Options include: mushrooms, chestnuts, oysters If you're vegetarian, use whatever butter substitute you like, and use water or vegetable broth in place of the chicken stock. This recipe really is no fail!

NO-FAIL BREAD DRESSING

Steps:

• 1. Heat oven to 325 degrees,Place bread cubes in large bowl. Butter casserole dish.
• 2. Saute the vegetables: heat butter in saute pan. Cook onions until limp. Add celery, cook until lightly browned.
• 3. Assemble the dressing: Scrape veggies into bowl with bread. Sprinkle in herbs, if using unseasoned bread cubes, start with about 1 teaspoon each of sage, marjoram, and thyme, grindings of pepper and salt, to taste, plus a pinch or two of cayenne. Season lightly, you can always add more.
• 4. While tossing, drizzle in enough broth to moisten mixture throughout, but not so it's sopping. Taste for seasoning, adding more if desired. if you prefer dense dressing, first add broth to barely moisten the mixture and correct seasonings. Then mix in the beaten egg and combine. wait a few minutes, allowing broth and egg to saturate the bread, before adding any more broth.
• 5. Bake dressing: Spoon mixture into buttered baking dish, do with butter. Cover mixture with a sheet of parchment and then tightly with foil. Place in oven and bake 45-60 minutes until piping hot and set. During the last 10 minutes of baking, remove foil and parchment, allowing top to brown. Sprinkle lightly with paprika during the final minutes.