Home made stuffing vs Stove Top Stuffing

I can't imagine Thanksgiving without stuffing. I've spent many years living in the south and have eaten a lot of cornbread stuffing, but still prefer my traditional “Yankee” white-bread stuffing. It's another thing that is incredibly easy to make – although it will probably set you back a little more than a single box of Stove Top, it also tastes a whole lot better and serves more people.

This is my mother's recipe, with a small twist, I like mushrooms and usually add about half of a 8 oz package to my stuffing. Sometimes I also take some of the “innards” or giblets, cook them up in a small pot with water and cut them up into fine pieces and add them to the stuffing – but I only use the heart and neck meat – not the kidneys and liver, I give those to the dogs so they have a holiday treat too. If you boil the giblets – either to add to the stuffing or to feed your pets, you can use the liquid from this instead of buying broth for the stuffing.

I usually buy and open the loaf of bread about 3-4 days before to let it get stale, if you don't do this then place bread on a cookie sheet in a 300 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until it's dry but not browned/toasted. I take about half of the loaf and trim the crust off, I also throw away the heels – you don't have to do this, it is a little wasteful but I just like the texture better.

Home made stuffing

½ c butter
2 c celery, chopped
1 lg onion, chopped
4 oz mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1 loaf cheap white bread, torn into small pieces or cut into cubes
½ – 1 c chicken, turkey or vegetable broth
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp poultry seasoning
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Melt the butter in a large skillet over med heat. Add the celery, onions and mushrooms, saute, add seasonings, saute until the onions are transparent. Put the bread into a large bowl, pour in the cooked onion/celery mixture, mix together. Mix in the egg, add broth a little at a time – use only enough to make the mixture moist, so that it holds together, but not so much that it's like a dough. Either stuff the turkey with the mixture and proceed to roast your turkey or put it into a greased baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. I usually stuff the turkey and put the extra into a small casserole dish and bake it separately.

Comparison

Price for home made stuffing: About $5.00 for the recipe/16 servings or .31 cents per serving
Price for Stove Top stuffing: $2.98 for a box/6 servings or about .50 cents per serving

Ingredients for home made stuffing: bread, butter, celery, onion, mushrooms, egg, broth, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning (parsley, rosemary, thyme)

Ingredients for Stove Top stuffing: Enriched wheat flour, high fructose corn syrup, dried onions, salt, partially hydrogenated soybean or cottonseed oil, hydrolyzed soy protein, turkey broth, yeast, dried celery, dried parsley, maltodextrin, spice, caramel color, sugar, turmeric, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, BHA, BHT, citric acid, and propyl gallate.

Preparation time for home made: About 15-20 minutes, plus baking time
Preparation time for Stove Top: 5 minutes

So, it's a little more than half the price to make it yourself. It will require about 20 minutes of your time to cut, saute and mix the ingredients. You will NOT be consuming HFCS, oils and chemicals that are not necessary.

Nutritional Data for home made stuffing
Calories 158
Total Fat 7 g
    Saturated Fat 4 g
    Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 28 mg
Sodium 308 mg
Total Carbohydrates 20 g
    Dietary Fiber 1 g
    Sugars 3 g
Protein 4 g
Vitamin A 5%
Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 6%
Iron 9%

Nutritional Data for Stove Top Stuffing
Calories 160
Total Fat 1 g*
    Saturated Fat 0 g*
    Trans Fat 0 g*
Cholesterol 0 g*
Sodium 440 mg*
Total Carbohydrates 21 g*
    Dietary Fiber <1 g*
    Sugars 2 g*
Protein 3 g*
Vitamin A 8%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 0%
Iron 6%

*Data for mix only, not for prepared stuffing – meaning without the butter or margarine that you need to use when cooking the Stove Top stuffing

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