Uncle Bill's Turkey Dressing

An excellent vegetarian style dressing for poultry. I have been making this recipe for over 35 years.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 8  ounces  homemade style  bread
• 1⁄4 cup butter or 1⁄4 cup margarine
• 2  cups  chopped small onion
• 1  medium  sweet red pepper, seeded and diced
• 1  medium green pepper, seeded and diced
• 2  large celery ribs, chopped small include leaves, finely chopped
• 1  tablespoon  chicken soup base
• 1  large egg, beaten
• 2  tablespoons  whole milk, homogenized
• 1 1⁄2 cups  sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 2  tablespoons dried parsley or 4  tablespoons  of finely chopped fresh parsley
• 2  teaspoons dried dill weed
• 1  teaspoon  granulated garlic powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 2  cups  crushed soda cracker  saltines

Directions

1. Purchase an 8 ounce sliced loaf of day old bread, such as homemade, sour dough or Italian bread.
2. Cut into 1/2" cubes and place on cookie sheets to dry for at least 1 day or dry in a 250 F oven for about 30 minutes.
3. I prefer to buy bread rather than purchasing bread cubes or bread crumbs.
4. In a large frying pan, add butter or margarine, onions, green and red peppers, celery and saute' for about 10 minutes; DO NOT BROWN.
5. Add chicken soup base and stir well.
6. Saute' for 5 minutes longer on medium-high heat.
7. In a large mixing bowl, add beaten eggs and milk and mix well.
8. Add dried bread cubes and mix well to coat.
9. Add mushrooms and mix again.
10. In a small bowl, mix together poultry seasoning, ginger, salt, parsley, dill weed, granulated garlic powder, black pepper and mix well to combine.
11. Sprinkle mixture over dressing and mix well.
12. Add crushed soda crackers and mix well.
13. Dressing should be only slightly moist when squeezed and should just hold together.
14. If dressing is still too moist, add more crushed cracker crumbs until the desired texture is achieved.
15. Adjust spices to taste.
16. You may wish to add some dried sage if desired.
17. Line the cavity with cheese cloth leaving enough cloth so that it protrudes outside the cavity. Stuff dressing loosely, DO NOT PRESS TIGHTLY, as it will not cook properly.
18. You can also wrap the dressing in double aluminum foil and bake in the oven along with your turkey or separately at 400 F for about 1 1/2 hours.
19. When the turkey is cooked, pull out the cheese cloth with the dressing. Leaves the cavity clean and you do not need to dig the dressing out.
20. NOTE: I prefer to cook the dressing in double aluminum foil in the oven.