Grandma’s Stuffing… a Thanksgiving Tradition

Gluten Free Stuffing Casserole… a Thanksgiving leftover tradition

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving with family, friends and loved ones!  We sure did.  It was a relaxing weekend for a change… things didn’t seem rushed.  The week before, our WildFlours Gluten Free Group meeting was all about “GF Stuffing/Dressing and Navigating the Holiday table”.  If you missed the meeting, I will share my Grandma’s stuffing recipe below.  It was easy to convert this traditional side dish using good quality gluten free bread.  Not the kind that resembles cardboard… you need a good multi-grain/seed gluten free bread.  I prefer to bake my own; however, you can also use Udi’s Gluten Free breads or a mix made at home from Breads from Anna or Pamela’s Amazing Bread.  In the picture above, we made a turkey casserole assembled with leftover stuffing, turkey and vegetables (in this case, peas).  Once warmed in the oven, serve with any leftover gravy and cranberry sauce.  Sometimes, this easy casserole seems better than the Thanksgiving meal!  Here is our traditional stuffing/dressing recipe made gluten free:

Grandma’s GF Stuffing (Dressing)

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf GF bread, cut into bite sized pieces or torn by hand
• 1 Tbls bacon grease, butter or olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2-3 stalks celery, peeled and diced
• 1 small apple or 1/2 large apple, peeled and diced
• 2 tsp fresh sage (finely chopped), or 4 tsp dried sage
• 2 tsp fresh parsley (finely chopped), or 4 tsp dried parsley
• optional: cooked pancetta, crumbled bacon, soaked shitake mushrooms with soaking liquid, soaked cranberries
• GF Chicken or Vegetable Stock (about 1 cup)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Butter for greasing the baking dish

Method:

1. Spread your bread cubes out onto a baking sheet and toast in a 300 degree oven until well dried, or leave on the counter over night to stale.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place toasted bread cubes in a large bowl.

3. In a skillet, heat the bacon grease and add the onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally until the veggie’s begin to soften slightly. Add the apple and any other ingredients (such as mushrooms, pancetta, crumbled bacon, cranberries). Continue to cook one minute longer, stirring frequently.

4. Add the herbs and turn off the heat. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper. Using a glass baking dish or other oven safe dish, spread the butter all over the inside of the dish and on the underside of the cover (if the dish does not have a cover, spread some butter on a piece of tinfoil cut to the size of your dish.

5. Moisten the bread cubes with about 1/8 cup of stock and toss to coat. Then add the cooked vegetable mixture to the bread and toss to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

6. Slowly pour the rest of the stock all over the bread mixture in the baking dish and cover (butter side down) tightly. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest with cover on for 5-10 minutes before serving.