SelectHealth Chef Mary Ross joined The PLACE with a Thanksgiving dinner recipe that's healthier than the traditional version.
Grandma's Old-Fashioned Sage Stuffing
Content Yield: 16 cups. Recipe can be doubled.
Non-aerosol cooking spray
1½ lb. sourdough, French or wheat bread, or a combination made without added fats; or 1 package (16-oz. ) fresh bakery unseasoned bread cubes (10 cups) Do not use prepackaged stuffing mixes.
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. crumbled dry sage
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
½ tsp. dry thyme or 1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 lb. (7% fat or leaner) turkey or chicken country breakfast or Italian style sausage (optional)
1 cup yellow or white onion, chopped
3 celery stocks including leaves, chopped
2 to 3 firm sweet-tart apples, any variety, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, sliced (optional)
½ cup raisins (optional)
2 eggs
½ cup turkey or chicken stock or broth made with low-sodium soup base
1 to 2 cloves fresh garlic, pressed or minced
½ or more degreased turkey drippings, stock or broth made with low-sodium soup base
1. Toast bread and cut into small cubes or rip bread into smaller pieces, place in food processor and process until all bread is coarsely crumbled. Transfer bread to a large mixing bowl.
2. Beginning with baking powder, add all seasonings to bread, mixing together well.
3. Brown sausage on medium heat in a nonstick skillet, crumbling meat into smaller pieces as it cooks and set aside.
4. Beat eggs together with ½ cup stock or broth. Stir in fresh garlic and set aside.
5. Mix sausage through raisins with seasoned bread. Add egg mixture, ¼ cup at a time, mixing all ingredients together well. Stuffing should be left a little dry—don't worry—the fruits and vegetables will add moisture to the stuffing as it bakes. Also, you want the stuffing a little dry, so you can add turkey drippings to it after it has cooked to give it that baked in the bird taste.
6. Spray a large Dutch oven or covered casserole dish with cooking spray and bake at 325 F for 1 hour or until raw ingredients are cooked through. Remove from oven and mix ½ or more degreased turkey drippings or broth into stuffing until desired moisture is achieved.
Nutritional Information: 1 cup at 155 Calories; 3g Fat; 22g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 10g Protein; 20mg Cholesterol; 465mg Sodium.
Nutritional Information without sausage: 1 cup at 128 Calories; 1g Fat; 25g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 5g Protein; 0 Cholesterol; 437mg Sodium.
Traditional Recipe Nutritional Information: 1 cup serving at 375 Calories; 24g Fat; 30g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 10g Protein; 46mg Cholesterol; 840mg Sodium.
Find more healthy recipes and wellness tips by visiting: SelectHealth.org/blog.
