CORI'S THANKSGIVING CROCK POT STUFFING

This is a delicious light stuffing.

It's very late, Thanksgiving Eve-Eve (the night before the night before). I've just cut six large loaves of bread into little cubes and have left it out on my kitchen island to dry. In the morning I will stir it first thing, letting the wet under pieces air out in the Utah desert dryness. I can feel the gastronomical calculator revving up inside my head, thinking through the order of things in the next couple days as we prepare for our Thanksgiving feast.

Utah air is perfect for drying bread.

Tomorrow evening the kitchen island will be cleared of dried bread cubes and will instead be covered with rolling pins and pie dough.  There's a giddy anticipation rising up in me, thinking about all the aromas and sounds and people that will be filling this house in the next two days. I really should go to bed. But first, the recipe for Thanksgiving Stuffing that has evolved in my kitchen the last few decades. I use a crock pot because I prefer to slow roast my turkeys. giving a moist meat in the end. Low and slow is not well suited for stuffing inside a bird. Besides, it's part of the magic of the day to have the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the TV, a blessed turkey in the oven, and delicious stuffing available for a sample at the lifting of the crockpot lid. This should be a light, delicious stuffing. If it's cooked too long, or too high, it will burn on the bottom. Keep an eye on it. Turn it off, then reheat it if it's done before the bird is.

CORI'S THANKSGIVING STUFFING in a CROCK POT

Prep Time - 25 minutes

Cook Time - 6-7 hours (on low)

INGREDIENTS:

1 c butter (salted)

1 large chopped onion (roughly 1 1/2 c)

2 c chopped celery

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley or 2 T dried

2 cans (8 oz) sliced or chopped water chestnuts

12 c dry bread cubes

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 - 2 t dried sage (to taste)

1 - 2 t dried thyme (to taste)

1/4 t pepper

1 t salt

3 - 4 c chicken or turkey broth

2 beaten eggs

cooked turkey giblets, if desired

Either buy bread cubes already dried, or cut fresh loaves into 1- 2" cubes and let dry on countertop, over night and into the next day, stirring to let all surfaces of the bread dry out. Or bake on cookie sheets at 200 for about 20-30 minutes, stirring regularly as they dry out. You want dried bread so it can absorb all the yummy liquids you will be adding.

In a heavy skillet melt butter then add celery, onion and parsley. Stir and cook 3 - 5 minutes.

Put bread cubes into a large bowl and pour butter and vegetables over, tossing with a fork or your clean hands. Sprinkle in seasonings, including salt and pepper. 

Add water chestnuts and giblets and toss.

Mix beaten eggs into 1/2 cup broth. Pour slowly over bread mixture, tossing to incorporate evenly. Add additional broth, 1/3 cup at a time, until mixture is moist  and light. (I taste mine to see if the seasonings are right. I haven't died yet from tasting uncooked stuffing.) Mixture should not be wet, just moist.

Grease crock pot generously with butter. spoon stuffing lightly into crock pot. Cover and cook on low for around 6 or 7 hours. Add more broth, 1/3 cup at a time, if it seems too dry as its cooking. Do not overcook.