Apple and Onion Stuffing

Sandylee's Note:

A Thanksgiving Tradition in the home of Rachael Ray. **NOTE**I tried Rachael Ray's stuffing on Thanksgiving of 2006....It was okay, but not one I would make again. My tastes do not favor fruit in the mix. Maybe if I added my standard sausage mix to the recipe it would have survived the test and made a permanent place in my recipe files.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus
• additional extra virgin olive oil, for oiling the pan
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 4 celery ribs, and greens from the heart chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 mcintosh apples, quartered and chopped
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 8 cups cubed seasoned stuffing mix (recommended brand Pepperidge Farm) or 8 cups homemade croutons, of any bread you choose (pumpernickel and rye)
• 4 -5 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup butter, softened (for muffins only)
• 1 egg, beaten (for muffins only)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Preheat large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO to the skillet and the butter. When the butter melts, add the bay leaf, celery, onions and apples. Season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning, and cook 5-6 minutes or until vegetables and apples begin to soften.
3. Add the parsley and stuffing cubes to the pan and combine.
4. Moisten the stuffing with chicken broth until all of the bread is soft, but not wet. Remove bay leaf and let cool either in the pan or in a bowl.
5. Brush a cookie sheet with EVOO.
6. Form a loaf shape out of your stuffing and bake until set and crisp on top, about 15 to 20 minutes.
7. ****************************************.
8. FOR INDIVIDUAL STUFFIN MUFFINS:.
9. Brush a 12 muffin cup holder with the remaining butter.
10. Add the beaten egg to the cooled stuffing mixture.
11. Using an ice cream scoop, fill and mound up the stuffing in muffin tins.
12. Bake until set and crisp on top, 10-15 minutes.
13. Remove stuffin' muffins to a platter and serve hot or room temperature.

Reviews

[Bev]

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving dinner after discovering it in our local paper. I used cornbread dressing mix, eliminated the egg and otherwise made as directed baking for individual servings in a muffin tin. I actually do like the apple in the dressing as it adds moisture to the dressing when baking it outside the turkey. Using an ice cream scoop made for a very easy way to fill the muffin cups. Thanks for posing!

[CulinaryQueen]

Yummy, yummy, yummy! I made a fresh loaf of white bread to use in this, cut it into cubes and just threw it all together. I didn't have 8 cups of the bread as there is only three of us, so therefore, didn't use all the stock either. Didn't have celery, but added in a couple of tablespoons each of raisins and slivered almonds. I just put it into a baking dish and, because I made it earlier in the day, I cooked it for about 30 minutes, stirring it around every 10 minutes. It went great with Crispy Panko Pork Chops. This was my first attempt at making homemade stuffing (other than using a commercial bread cube) and I was very happy with the results. Thanks for a definite keeper!