Traditional Stuffing / Dressing

At Thanksgiving I am considered the family odd ball. My least favorite part of Thanksgiving is the turkey and my favorite part is the stuffing and other sides. I've actually gotten to the point that I don't even put turkey on my plate anymore so I have more room for all the other delicious parts! I can't wait any longer for Thanksgiving to get here, so I have decided to make my mom's dressing now, it is extremely simple, and honestly I'm surprised I haven't made it since Thanksgiving. Now for a fun tid bit... do you know the difference of dressing versus stuffing? It is pretty simple, the exact same recipe, but stuffing is when it is cooked in the bird, and dressing is when it is cooked separately! Many sources say it can be unsafe to stuff your bird as raw juices could get into the stuffing, in my family if we are stuffing a bird we will do it right before it goes into the oven so there is very little time that raw juices can enter the stuffing.

Traditional Stuffing / Dressing: Serves 7-9

1 Loaf of Stale White Bread (approx 18 slices)
1 Egg
1 Stick of Butter - melted
1C Chicken Stock
2 Celery Stalks - Diced
1 Small Onion - Diced
2-3TB Fresh Parsley (2-3tsp dried)
2tsp Dried Thyme
Salt & Pepper

I know you are probably thinking Stale Bread? really? - Yes Really. Using stale bread gives your dressing some texture, using fresh bread often turns gummy and isn't as delicious. I normally open the loaf and let it sit out for a few hours, or if you need to make it stale fast, just stick the loaf in the oven at 300° on a cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes and it will draw some of the moisture out of the bread. Once you have stale bread, tear it into small 1/2" chunks and place in a large mixing bowl - if you are going to stuff a bird keep one of the heels whole.

Add all of the remaining ingredients to the bread and with clean hands smush it together until all pieces of the bread are evenly coated. Personally I like to taste test a small piece to make sure it has enough salt and pepper, but beware there is raw egg in the mix, you could always microwave a small piece for 30 seconds if the raw egg bothers you.

If you are going to stuff a bird make sure to stuff the bird at the last minute and do not try to force more than what fits into the bird, place that reserved heel into the end of the bird to hold in all of the stuffing and cook the bird immediately per the directions that came with the bird.

I am not stuffing a bird this week, so I loosely placed the dressing into a greased 9x9 pan and placed it in the refrigerator until I was ready to cook it (I actually made it the night before so I could quickly get it in the oven today). Place in a 350° oven for 60 minutes, if the top starts to burn cover with foil and continue cooking.

Remove from the oven, let cool for 3-5 minutes, serve & enjoy!

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WW: 7 Points Plus / serving @ 9 servings
9 Points Plus / serving @ 7 servings