Stuffing

I love stuffing... it's one of the cornerstones of both our Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. However, every time I pick up a package of stuffing mix, I see the dreaded words "hydrolyzed soy protein", "soy protein isolate", "soy flour" or "whey". Luckily, stuffing isn't difficult to make from scratch! I love getting artisan bread to make my stuffing from. One of my favorites is a roasted garlic bread that has whole garlic cloves studded throughout the bread. As with anything, read the label to make sure there's nothing you don't want in the bread.

1 loaf (or more) good, crusty bread of your choice
1 large onion (or a little more, if you like lots of onion), chopped
4 to 5 ribs of celery, chopped
2 medium apples, cored and chopped
1/2 lb MPSI safe sausage
1 stick of margarine or 1/2 c clarified butter (if tolerated)
A few cups MSPI safe chicken broth
Poultry seasoning or a combination of your favorite herbs for stuffing

Slice the loaf. Lay several slices on top of each other in a stack, slice into rods, then rotate 90 degrees and cut into cubes. When the bread is cubed, spread it out on the counter to dry overnight OR put it in a thin layer on cookie sheets and dry it out in a warm oven for a few hours.

When you're ready to make the stuffing, melt the margarine or clarified butter in a large skillet. Add the onion, celery, apples and sausage, crumbling the sausage as it cooks. When the sausage is brown and the vegetables and apples are soft, add a cup or two of chicken broth and add enough poultry seasoning to everything until it tastes right for you. Place the dried out bread cubes in a large, greased baking pan. Pour cooked mixture over the bread, stirring to coat. Add more chicken broth, a little at a time, until the bread is as moist as you like. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes.

**Note** If you like a more uniform, softer, scoopable stuffing, add an or two to the mix during the final mixing, adding broth until it's fairly loose, then bake as directed. I prefer a stuffing that has distinct, separate pieces of bread rather than a soft stuffing.