Description
Stuffing or ‘dressing’ doesn’t need to only be served during the Thanksgiving holiday. This stuffing is loaded with great vegetables, sausage and bread and would be perfect for a meal by itself.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
- 1 cup Chicken Livers, Pureed In A Food Processor
- 4 whole Cremini Mushrooms, Chopped
- 6 slices Nueske’s Bacon, Cut Into Pieces
- 1 head Kale, Stems Removed, Chopped
- ½ cups Water
- 4 cups Sour Dough Bread Cut Into Thick Cubes
- 21 ounces, weight Pepperidge Farm Herbed Seasoned Stuffing
- 2 pounds Jimmy Dean’s Pork Sausage With Sage
- 2 sticks Unsalted Butter
- 2 whole Medium Yellow Onions, Minced
- 8 cloves Garlic, Minced
- ¼ cups Flat-leaf Parsley, Chopped
- ½ cups Fresh Sage, Minced
- ½ cups Fresh Rosemary, Minced
- 6 stalks Celery, Chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Salt To Taste
- 2 Tablespoons Cracked Black Pepper
- ¼ cups Raisins
- 5 cups Chicken Stock, Warmed
Preparation
Note I used a large and deep disposable aluminum foil roasting pan for this recipe.
Heat two skillets on your stove, on medium heat.
Into one skillet add the canola oil and let it come to temperature. Once heated for a few minutes, add the pureed chicken livers and mushrooms, and give a good stir.
Into the other skillet, add the chopped bacon.
Cook the livers only for a few minutes, stirring along the way, then remove the skillet from the heat and set the livers into a bowl.
Cook the bacon, just until slightly crisp, then strain some of the bacon fat, reserving for later use if you want.
Into the skillet with the slightly cooked bacon, add the chopped kale and water. Continue cooking until the kale gets nice and wilted, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
Preheat your oven to 325 F. Once heated, add the sour dough bread cubes and stuffing mix to a baking sheet (or two) and place into the oven, cooking for about 12 minutes or until the bread is nice and golden crisp.
Heat the skillet used for the chicken livers on medium high heat. Then add the Jimmy Dean sausage. Cook the sausage until nice and crisp, about 10 minutes. Once cooked, place into a bowl and set the sausage to the side.
Into your large skillet, add the butter. Cook on medium heat and let the butter melt. Add the onions, garlic, parsley, fresh herbs, and celery. Cook for about 10 minutes or until everything is nice and tender. Season with the salt and pepper.
Into the large disposable roasting pan, add the bread cubes and stuffing mix, bacon and kale mixture, liver and mushrooms, raisins and sausage. Give this a good mix, making sure you incorporate all of the ingredients. Next, ladle in the warm chicken stock. You want to make sure the mixture gets softened, but not mushy. You don’t want mush. Cover the pan with foil.
Put the stuffing pan into the heated oven and cook for 30 minutes. Next, uncover the pan and cook for an additional 15 minutes so the top gets a bit crisp.
The end result is pretty flipping amazing. You get sweet and savory, and great texture all around. This is my go to stuffing recipe and it’s one that I crave during the fall and winter months.
