Grandma's Old-Fashioned Sage Stuffing
This stuffing is baked rather than cooked inside the turkey. Degrease the extra drippings and use them to make gravy to give this stuffing that baked-in-the-bird taste!
Ingredients
2 lbs. sourdough, French or wheat bread, or a combination made without added fats; or 1 package (16-oz. ) unseasoned bread cubes (15 cups)1 ½ lbs. reduced-fat (7% fat or leaner) country style or Italian sausage (optional)
4 celery stocks including leaves, chopped
3 firm golden delicious or Granny Smith apples, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 cup raisins
3 cloves fresh garlic, pressed or minced
1 ½ tbsp. crumbled dry sage
1 ½ tsp. poultry seasoning
1 tbsp. fresh chopped thyme or 1 tsp. dry
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 tsps. baking powder
fresh ground pepper to taste
¾ cup turkey or chicken stock or broth plus ¾ cup or more degreased turkey drippings,
stock, or broth for a total of 1 1/2 cups
2 eggs
Directions
I. Toast bread and cut into small cubes or position knife in food processor bowl, rip toasted bread into smaller pieces, place in processor and process until all bread is coarsely crumbled.2. Brown sausage on medium heat in a non-stick skillet, crumbling meat into smaller pieces as it cooks. Drain any grease on paper towels, if necessary, and set aside. Add all seasonings to bread, beginning with baking powder, mixing together well.
3. Beat eggs together with 1 cup stock or broth. Stir in fresh garlic and set aside. Mix sausage through raisins with bread. Add egg mixture to stuffing ¼ cup at a time, mixing ingredients together well. If the stuffing seems dry—don’t worry— the fruits and vegetables in the stuffing will add moisture to the bread as it bakes.
4. Place stuffing in a Dutch oven or covered casserole dish and bake at 325º F for 1 hour or until raw ingredients are cooked through. Remove from oven and mix ½ to 1 cup degreased turkey drippings or broth into stuffing until desired moisture is reached.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information: 1-cup serving at 155 calories; 3g fat ; 10g protein; 22g carbohydrate; 2g fiber; 20mg cholesterol; 565mg sodiumNutrition Information w/o sausage: 1-cup serving at 128 calories; 1g fat; 5g protein; 25g carbohydrate; 2g fiber; 0mg cholesterol; 437mg sodium
Original Recipe Nutrition Information: 1-cup serving at 374 calories; 24g fat; 10g protein; 30g carbohydrate; 2g fiber; 46mg cholesterol; 840mg sodium
Nutritional Talking Points
I. No fat or butter is used to sauté the vegetables before they are added to the stuffing to keep them from moist and from drying out. The vegetables and fruits cook together with the other ingredients when the stuffing is baked. That way, the natural juices from the ingredients are baked into the stuffing and none of their natural moister is lost.
2. The recipe uses fresh toasted bread, rather than boxed stuffing mix, which contains all kinds of preservatives, sodium, and unnatural ingredients.
3. This recipe uses lower fat and cholesterol, 93% to 97% lean turkey and/or chicken breakfast or Italian sausage rather than regular high fat and cholesterol pork sausage.
4. Low-sodium broth is used or made with low-sodium chicken or turkey soup base.
5. The stuffing is never baked in the bird, but separately. Stuffing baked inside of the bird acts like a sponge, sucking the juices out of the meat and into the stuffing. Often, making the stuffing too moist and resulting in a dry bird with less drippings.
6. This recipe calls for degreased turkey drippings to add moister and give the stuffing that baked in the bird taste after it comes out of the oven. I will show viewers how to do this by bringing a cup that separates the fat from the drippings so that they can be used to moisten the stuffing.
7. Giblets are not added to the stuffing as with some recipes. Adding giblets increases the fat and cholesterol content of the stuffing to unnecessary levels.
8. Two whole eggs are used to help enrich and moisten the stuffing before it goes into the oven. Eggs are a complete food and their cholesterol content although high dose not affect you serum cholesterol.
I. No fat or butter is used to sauté the vegetables before they are added to the stuffing to keep them from moist and from drying out. The vegetables and fruits cook together with the other ingredients when the stuffing is baked. That way, the natural juices from the ingredients are baked into the stuffing and none of their natural moister is lost.
2. The recipe uses fresh toasted bread, rather than boxed stuffing mix, which contains all kinds of preservatives, sodium, and unnatural ingredients.
3. This recipe uses lower fat and cholesterol, 93% to 97% lean turkey and/or chicken breakfast or Italian sausage rather than regular high fat and cholesterol pork sausage.
4. Low-sodium broth is used or made with low-sodium chicken or turkey soup base.
5. The stuffing is never baked in the bird, but separately. Stuffing baked inside of the bird acts like a sponge, sucking the juices out of the meat and into the stuffing. Often, making the stuffing too moist and resulting in a dry bird with less drippings.
6. This recipe calls for degreased turkey drippings to add moister and give the stuffing that baked in the bird taste after it comes out of the oven. I will show viewers how to do this by bringing a cup that separates the fat from the drippings so that they can be used to moisten the stuffing.
7. Giblets are not added to the stuffing as with some recipes. Adding giblets increases the fat and cholesterol content of the stuffing to unnecessary levels.
8. Two whole eggs are used to help enrich and moisten the stuffing before it goes into the oven. Eggs are a complete food and their cholesterol content although high dose not affect you serum cholesterol.
Cook Healthy Now 