How to make GFCF stuffing that will compliment any Turkey, Turkey.

So, a promise is a promise, as they say. I said I would start posting recipes for Thanksgiving, and so I will.

I had to really pour over my recipes to decide where to start. I thought, "hey, you know what? why not start with something that is almost completely bread?"

It is easy to have a gluten-free meal without stuffing, but with stuffing, that is a whole other animal.

So, that is where we will start, with the stuffing, the perfect compliment to the turkey. I have two recipes to share, and I will say, my "martian" actually eats the first version. In fact, he will sneak pieces of it off the table, with his hand. (I know, very unsanitary, but at least he is eating!)

The first recipe is for sausage and apple stuffing. Now, I personally make my own stuffing with ground pork, but there are quite a few gluten-free, casein-free ground sausage products out there. For example,
Jimmy Dean and Johnsonville both have products now that are gluten-free, casein-free.

So, without further ado, here is my recipe for Apple and Sausage stuffing.

Here is what you will need:

1 medium onion
3 stalks of celery
1 bunch of fresh sage or 1 tsp of dry sage. (dry sage has a stronger flavor than fresh)
1 medium apple (I prefer the taste of braeburn or honeycrisp, a friend of mine made this recipe with granny smith and said it was great.)
1/4 tsp of rosemary
1/4 tsp of herbs de provence
1/2 package of sausage
4 tblsp of ghee butter (clarified butter, casein free)
1 tblsp of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups of chicken stock (gluten, casein free) or turkey drippings with water.
1 loaf of gluten-free, casein-free bread. (We love Udi's whole grain, but any will do.)

Toast the bread in the oven at low temp, 200 degrees for about 30 minutes until dry.
or, you can buy a package of the gluten-free bread cubes, I just prefer larger, irregular pieces, call me a purist.

 So, start by chopping 1/2 of the onion, the stalks of celery, and the apple in fine dices. chop the sage fine as well.

Then, brown the sausage in the skillet over medium-high heat. When done, put the sausage on a paper towel and set aside.

I am a southern girl, so I only pour off half of the grease from the sausage, if you are a healthy sort of person, you will want to drain all of the grease out of the pan.

Once the pan is where you want it,

Then melt the ghee and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium heat.

Once the butter is melted down, add the onions and celery, you are going to want to stir them and let them become translucent.

Then, add 1/2 of the sage to the pan, stir well.

Add the apple pieces and the sausage back to the pan.

Add chicken stock or turkey drippings with water, about a cup, to the mixture.

Cover and let simmer for about 1/2 hour.

Take the bread and cube or tear to bite-size pieces or add the store-bought cubes to a large bowl, (heat safe.)
Add the rest of the chopped-up sage, herbs de provence, and rosemary to the bowl. Add salt and pepper.

toss the bread pieces with the seasonings until well coated.

Turn the heat off of the skillet, let cool for about 5-10 minutes.

Pour the contents of the skillet into the bowl of bread cubes. Toss the mixture together well until all bread is well coated.

Put in the oven at 350 for 40 minutes until brown on the top.

Enjoy with turkey!!

Now the next Recipe is one that all southerners are used to, cornbread stuffing. I never did like cornbread stuffing, except with a glass of iced-tea. My mom never made this one in particular, but most if not all my neighbors did and many of my relatives as well.

For cornbread stuffing, you will need:
Cornbread, either a gfcf mix, or store-bought, because they do have it.
1 onion
1/4 tsp of garlic
3 stalks of celery
fresh sage or 1 tsp of dried sage
1 tsp of thyme
1 tsp of parsley or a small bunch of fresh parsley
6 cups of chicken stock or turkey drippings and water equivalent.
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs beaten well.
8 tblsp of ghee butter

So, start by pulverizing the cornbread into very small pieces. Otherwise, the recipe may be too dry.
place in a large bowl and set aside.

Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet.

Finely chop the onion and the celery stalks and add to skillet

cook for about 10 minutes, until  the celery and onions are transparent.

Add all the seasonings to the cornbread and toss well.

Stir in the vegetables until mixture well coated

Add the beaten eggs to the mixture, then the chicken stock.

Pour the mixture into a greased glass pan.

Bake in the oven at 350 F for about 45 minutes.

Enjoy with Turkey or Ham!!!

I really do hope this is helpful. I would love some comments and feedback. If you need me to answer questions, post and I will reply as soon as I can.

Next week, Sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce.