Homemade Stuffing with Cranberries, Apples and Walnuts

I had never made stuffing from scratch before this Thanksgiving and I was a little nervous.  It seemed intimidating.  I am pleased to report that it really wasn’t so bad!  I definitely added too much chicken stock but once I baked it everything worked itself out so it’s all good.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups cubed French bread, left to stale overnight (I think next time I may use ciabatta since it’s nice and chewy)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1 whole apple, diced
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup walnuts or pecans
• 2 tbsp butter or oil
• salt & pepper
• 1-2 cups chicken, turkey or vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• as much as you want of Thyme, Rosemary, Sage (then walk around singing Simon and Garfunkel’s, “Parsley Sage, Rosemary and Thyyyyme” all day like I did)

Melt butter in a large saute pan over med heat.  Add onions and celery and cook until just beginning to get tender.  Add apple, cranberries and walnuts and cook another couple of minutes until heated through and tender.

Add 1 cup of chicken stock, salt, pepper and all herbs and stir to combine.  Mix in bread cubes and gently stir to combine.  I had to kind of mash mine so I could fit it inside the pork but you can leave the cubes nice and pretty.  Add more stock until the consistency is to your liking.

Stuff into a turkey, pork loin or bake until crispy and eat as a side dish.  Whatever you choose, you won’t be disappointed!