Crock of Stuffing

I love stuffing, STUFFING!

I’m always juggling burners and the oven to get everything to the table hot.. that cooking stuffing in a slow cooker, is pure genius. That …and there is NEVER enough stuffing in the turkey!

INGREDIENTS:

·       1 loaf sliced white bread (or any bread on sale)

·       1 loaf sliced whole wheat bread (or any bread on sale)

·       1 cup butter (or olive oil for a vegetarian option)

·       3 cups onion (about 2 onions), diced small

·       3 cups celery (3-4 stalks), diced small

·       2 carrots, diced small

·       1 tablespoon minced garlic

·       1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped

·       1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

·       1/4 cup fresh thyme, chopped

·       Fresh ground black pepper, and salt to taste

·       4 cups chicken broth, divided (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian option.)

·       2-3 eggs, beaten

DIRECTIONS:

1.     Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2.     Slice the loaves of bread and then tear the slices into bite size pieces. Spread the pieces of bread between two rimmed baking sheets and bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly toasted. Mix half way.

3.     While bread is toasting, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrot. Turn heat up to medium high and cook, stirring frequently for about 7 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, and cook and stir for another minute or two. Add the poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix well to combine. Remove from heat.

4.     When bread is nicely toasted, transfer to a large roasting pan or very large mixing bowl. Spoon cooked vegetables over and mix well. Add beaten eggs and stir to combine. Add enough chicken broth just to moisten the mixture, about 1 to 1-1/2 cups, reserving the rest for later.

5.     Mix well and transfer stuffing to a 6-quart (or larger) slow cooker. Cover and set to LOW.

6.     Cook for 4 to 6 hours.

7.     Check on it now and then and add chicken broth throughout cooking time to achieve desired consistency.

8.     Taste and add additional seasoning if desired.

Make-Ahead Instructions:

Sometimes we make this ahead of time, to cut the time of cooking on Thanksgiving Day!

You can get the veggies ready the night before to save more time and then just add to the bread in the morning. Follow with the remaining instructions as written.