Monday, November 9, 2015

Blog With Friends: We Are Family

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends theme collaborations. Each month a group of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about this partnership is that it’s not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may have a recipe, sewing tutorial, crafts projects, book review and/or a technology post all related to the theme of the month.

Blog With Friends | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics



This month our theme is Family. There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post but here’s a peek at what we all came up with:

Blog With Friends: A monthly group post of projects based on a theme. November 2015 theme: Family | collage by Robin of Someone Else's Genius | www.BakingInATornado.com


 For my contribution I'm sharing my recipe for Fall Harvest Stuffing.


Fall Harvest Stuffing: A side dish for the holidays. Stuff your turkey to bake in the bird or bake in a casserole dish in the oven. Easy preparation. Can be made ahead | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #Thanksgiving #Christmas

 Fall Harvest Stuffing

There's no question that the thought of family this time of year just screams Thanksgiving. Not screams literally, of course, that would be more Halloween. In the spirit (sheesh, what's with the Halloween references today) of killing two turkeys (there we go, Thanksgiving) with one stone, I'm using this post both to address the "family" theme and to fulfill a request. 

A friend asked, on my Baking In A Tornado Facebook page, for me to share a stuffing recipe. I make two of them. I serve turkey both for Thanksgiving and on Christmas day, so I change them up with different stuffing recipes. Today I'm going to share one of our family favorites, the recipe I use with our Thanksgiving turkey. And just as an added family component, the base recipe I used to develop this recipe came from my Mom's stuffing, a favorite of mine growing up. I've changed it up, added my own touch, but there's much of Mom's recipe still there. Thanks, Mom. 

This recipe is full of flavors and textures but is simple to make. It's mostly just mixing. 

Fall Harvest Stuffing: A side dish for the holidays. Stuff your turkey to bake in the bird or bake in a casserole dish in the oven. Easy preparation. Can be made ahead | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #Thanksgiving #Christmas


For me, holiday preparation is most stress free when I plan ahead and do as much in advance as possible. This stuffing recipe calls for 1/4 of my Smoky Cornbread recipe. I always make this in advance. The rest of the cornbread can be served as a side dish but it also freezes well.


Smoky Cornbread: Cornbread with a twist (or a few). A side dish, a breakfast, and even as an ingredient in my Fall Harvest Stuffing | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe

 With the cornbread having been made in advance and my utilization of frozen chopped onion, I've taken the prep time to about 15 minutes. Since I'm all about ending up with as little to clean up as possible, I use a small skillet to saute the mushrooms and use the same skillet to dissolve the bouillon.

Fall Harvest Stuffing: A side dish for the holidays. Stuff your turkey to bake in the bird or bake in a casserole dish in the oven. Easy preparation. Can be made ahead | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #Thanksgiving #Christmas


Mix it all up, shred in the carrot, use as much of the liquid to achieve the right stuffing consistency and you're ready to bake. 

Fall Harvest Stuffing: A side dish for the holidays. Stuff your turkey to bake in the bird or bake in a casserole dish in the oven. Easy preparation. Can be made ahead | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #Thanksgiving #Christmas


I always cook in the turkey with whatever amount doesn't fit in a baking pan.

Fall Harvest Stuffing: A side dish for the holidays. Stuff your turkey to bake in the bird or bake in a casserole dish in the oven. Easy preparation. Can be made ahead | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #Thanksgiving #Christmas

One more note, this stuffing can be made up to a day in advance. I store it in the fridge in a gallon plastic bag until I'm ready for it. Remove from fridge 1 1/2 hours before use and bring to room temperature. Easy Peasy.

Fall Harvest Stuffing: A side dish for the holidays. Stuff your turkey to bake in the bird or bake in a casserole dish in the oven. Easy preparation. Can be made ahead | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #Thanksgiving #Christmas


As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!


Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:

 Rabia of The Lieber Family Blog shares a cute way to display your love of your family with her Pumpkin Family Display.


Melissa of Home on Deranged shares How to Survive the Family Holiday Season Without Going Nuts


Robin of Someone Else's Genius shares a customized paper craft, A Family Tree for Every Season.


Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares tips for staying in touch Family and Periscope.tv.





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Fall Harvest Stuffing
                                           ©www.BakingInATornado.com


NOTE: Recipe can be doubled for a larger turkey
NOTE: Recipe calls for 1/4 of my Smoky Cornbread recipe. This can be made ahead. Remaining 3/4 of the recipe can be served with dinner or frozen.

Ingredients:
1 TBSP butter
1/2 lb mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
3 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed to crumbs
3 cups packaged cornbread stuffing
1 cup seasoned croutons
1/4 of Smoky Cornbread recipe 
1 carrot, stem, tip and outer layer removed
1 1/2 cups frozen chopped onion, defrosted and drained
1/3 cup cranraisins
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, shelled
2 chicken bouillon cubes

Directions:
*In a skillet, melt the butter and saute the mushrooms just until soft.
*While mushrooms are cooking, in a large bowl, place the cracker crumbs, cornbread stuffing and croutons. Using your hands, break up the smoky cornbread onto this mixture.
*Using a vegetable peeler, add the carrot in thin strips, then the mushrooms, onion, cranraisins and pumpkin seeds. Mix well.
*In the same skillet used for the mushrooms, bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add 2 chicken bouillon cubes and dissolve completely.
*Add about 1/2 cup of the liquid to the bowl. Mix. Continue to add liquid, small amounts at a time until the stuffing is just moist and able to hold together but not wet.
*Loosely stuff turkey and cook according to directions. 
*The remaining stuffing can be cooked in a greased baking pan at 350 degrees for 30 minutes covered and 10 to 15 minutes uncovered.

18 comments:

  1. Looks delicious. Wonderful to share something that has been part of family life for many seasons.

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    Replies
    1. I agree. Thanksgiving is about family, but it's also about sharing.

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  2. Mmmmm . . . and now I'm craving stuffing and Canadian Thanksgiving has already passed. Sigh.

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    Replies
    1. It doesn't have to be Thanksgiving to make a turkey. Just sayin'.

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  3. Ugh, now I am starving and have not had breakfast yet here at work and craving stuffing.

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    Replies
    1. Don't you just hate when you need stuffing and there isn't any around.

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  4. This looks delicious! I have been in charge of the Thanksgiving feast since my mother-in-law dies five years ago. I was very intimidated at first, since I have never even baked a whole chicken before. My mom helped me figure that part out and I've slowly been upping my game each year. I love the cooking and feeding parts. And I get to get out of the cleaning up parts!

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    Replies
    1. I love upping the game every year, it keeps it interesting. I have to admit that my favorite part is smelling the turkey cooking all day.

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  5. That looks delicious! I have been making the same recipe that mom made for the past 25 years. We look forward to it every year and even sneak in a few extra times throughout the year. I am on a mission this year to snap a picture of the sweet potato dumplings that my SIL refuses to give me the recipe for. I know you will be able to figure it out!

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  6. I am not a fan of stuffing but Tim loves it just saying

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  7. This looks divine and a perfect addition to the Thanksgiving meal!! :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Jenn, I know a lot of people don't stuff their turkeys but for us it isn't Thanksgiving without the stuffing,

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  8. Yum! I just make, like, four boxes of Stovetop for our stuffing. This seems easy, if I remember to plan ahead... which probably won't happen, but hey. A girl can dream!

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    Replies
    1. Without a doubt if you plan ahead and try this you will never go back to Stovetop again!

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  9. Loving how this stuffing comes together and making it a day ahead really makes life easier!!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I do as much in advance as I can. I fully intend to spend Thanksgiving with my family, not in the kitchen.

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