New Year's Resolution

My New Year's resolution is to Eat More Stuffing! I always eat stuffing at Thanksgiving and during the holidays, but then I let the seasons pass me by stuffing-free. I want to have fall stuffing, winter stuffing, spring stuffing and summer stuffing -- stuffing for all seasons.



Roast chicken is standard fare in our household, but this year I'm going to serve it with stuffing instead of potatoes or rice. One thing I don't do with stuffing is stuff poultry with it. I think it makes it harder to cook the bird properly, and the stuffing doesn't brown inside a chicken. I like to put the stuffing in a casserole dish and brown it for 20 or 30 minutes. Yum.

I usually start with a bag of stuffing mix, to which I add my own ingredients. I sauté some onions and celery in butter, add water and/or stock, and then add stuffing mix, sage and other ingredients, such as dried fruit, sausage or chestnuts. Stir, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Add to casserole dish and bake. I usually use 1/2 cup more liquid than the recipe calls for so it doesn't dry out in the oven.

I have to admit that eating more stuffing was my New Year's resolution last year, but this year I'm going to dig deeper. This year, my goal is to make stuffing from scratch. I'm not necessarily going to bake the bread, but I'm going to try to create a good recipe that doesn't start with Pepperidge Farms. We have a local bakery that sells day-old bread, so I think I'll start there. I'll include a recipe and some photos when that happens.