Old Fashioned Dressing (or Stuffing)

Dear Lord, why do we only make this deliciousness with a turkey at holidays?? It is oh- my- goodness good! And so simple; I vow to make dressing (or stuffing) more often. Before I get on with the recipe, let me discuss the "dressing or stuffing" issue. It is the one in the same to me. Only if I cook it stuffed in a bird, I call it stuffing & if I cook it in a casserole dish than I call it dressing. Seems self explanatory to me, but you never know. I figure it's better to offer more than not enough info!

Ingredients:

1 loaf of plain, White Bread

1 stick of Butter

1 Yellow Onion, chopped

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

2 Spring Onions, chopped

1-2 tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped

1 1/4 cup Chicken Broth

Poultry Seasoning

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Open up the bag of bread & poke holes in the plastic to let air in. Let the bread sit out over night the evening before you make the dressing. If you forget to do this or don't have time, lightly toast each slice. You can do this in the oven pretty quickly.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.

Add the chopped onion to the melted butter & saute.

Cook until the onion is soft, adding the minced garlic the last 1-2 minutes.

While the onion is cooking, lightly season each side of the bread with poultry seasoning. You don't need to get every piece of the bread covered, poultry seasoning has a strong flavor.

Then stack a few slices (I did 4) on top of each other.

And cut into cubes.

Place the cubed bread in a buttered 9 X 12 casserole dish. Then add the sauteed onion & garlic with all the melted butter and the chopped spring onion & parsley.

Season with a little salt & pepper then mix well. Then add the chicken broth & fold in to incorporate evenly. The amount of chicken broth that you use varies from time to time. I used exactly 1 1/4 cup this time. You want the bread to be moist but not soggy.

Cover the casserole dish with tin foil & bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Pull it out of the oven, remove the tin foil & return to the oven. Cook uncovered for another 10-15 minutes, until the top is browned & crispy.

I used to think I only liked the stuffing cooked in the bird. That's what we all fought over at my Grannanny's house every Thanksgiving & Christmas! (PS- her stuffing is worth fighting over!) But when I got married & started making my own holiday feasts, my husband asked me to make it on the side. I thought he was crazy! But of course I did it. Actually, I ended up doing it both ways. ;) I'm so glad I did! It turns out I loved it baked. It has the perfect combination of crispiness from the top & creaminess on the insides. For once (this doesn't happen often) the hubs was right!

Made this with my Herb Roasted Chicken, Red Skin Mashed Potatoes, & Collard Greens.