a simple real food recipe :: homemade stuffing

I’m gonna be honest with you.

I love the taste of the stuffing out of a box. It’s what I grew up on around the holidays.

But, man…have you seen the ingredients on those?! Seriously! It’s awful!So for years I would just put a tiny amount on my plate at holiday feasts to enjoy a little bit of the flavor but not overdo it. There was even a couple years where I avoided it all together when I was avoiding grains and other items, while I was healing my gut.

This year was different. I had a 3 ½ year old that was going to want to eat what everyone else was eating. I knew that at Thanksgiving she wasn’t going to just be the little baby that would eat what she was given on her plate or blended up baby food in a small cup. She was going to want to socialize and participate and eat what the big people were eating!So into the kitchen I went this year making new recipes from the beginning of the meal to the desert, figuring out cleaner, and more traditional ways of making these family holiday staples. I want to change my children’s frame of reference for what holiday food should be. Food from scratch. I want them to crave and look forward to those special meals that come with the season – food is NOT the enemy. Processed food is. I want to teach my kids its ok to enjoy food!  REAL food. *stepping off of soap box before I go on and on*…!!!Here is what I came up with for stuffing. I ended up making it 2 times this Thanksgiving since we had 2 dinners to attend – everyone really loved it! If you don’t make your own bread, I would suggest finding a good baker in your area that makes sourdough. Grains in soaked breads or sourdough breads digest better and over time are better on your gut. HERE is my homemade bread recipe – it is easier than you think! And very cost effective!

You’ll need:

2 medium onions, chopped

6 ribs of celery, chopped

4 TB friendly fat to cook in (butter, coconut oil, lard)

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp sage

2 tsp thyme

2 tsp parsley

Sea salt/pepper to taste

1 quart chicken stock (Homemade preferable to avoid MSG and BPA. )

1 loaf stale/dried out homemade bread, torn up (Preferable soaked bread or sourdough for best digestion.)

2 pastured eggs, lightly beaten (if you are egg free use an egg replacer or flax egg)

1. Saute the onion and celery in the friendly fat for about 5-7 minutes. Add a few pinches of salt to bring out their juices and sweeten.
2. Add the garlic and seasonings and cook for a minute.
3. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Taste for seasoning/saltiness and add as needed.
4. Put the bread, egg, and stock mixture in a large mixing bowl and combine well.
5. Pour the bread mixture in the buttered baking dish. (If dairy free use lard or coconut oil.)
6. Bake COVERED for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
7. Uncover the baking dish and bake another 25-30 minutes.

Kitchen Tips:

1. If you are doing a turkey, you can bake the first part of this (the covered part) the day before. Put it in the fridge, and then when the turkey comes out of the oven the next day, and is resting for the half hour you can put this in for the last 30 minutes uncovered! Perfect timing! If you don’t put your turkey in the oven until later in the morning, you could bake off the first part of this covered in the morning before you put your turkey in.
2. It takes a good full day to dry out homemade fresh bread. I broke it up and set it in a huge bowl and a good 24 hours later it was dried out enough. You are going for stale – not rock hard. But with fresh bread it does take some time to dry out. If you are doing homemade this is a good make ahead task!
3. I did stumble upon some grain free stuffing options while I was searching where to start in my stuffing making this year. I didn’t try any of them but if you are on a grain break, give grain free stuffing a google see what you come up with 😉 I am a huge believer in sticking to your guns if you are gut healing and on a special diet for a period of time. I have been there and want to help 🙂 Even if it’s just knowing that someone has “been there done that” and healed – you can do it!

YOUR TURN!

Does your family celebrate the holidays with a stuffing side dish?? Let me know what you think if you try it!

This post was shared at The Polivka Family’s Family Table Tuesday, and Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday, and Real Food Freaks Freaky Friday!