As a nurse practitioner working in a hospital setting, it’s inevitable that I end up working some of the holidays. (No, babies aren’t aware that it’s December 25th or the fourth Thursday in November, when they’re ready to be born that’s it. No discussion.)
Because I’m usually at the hospital for Thanksgiving, I normally don’t get to visit my family in Florida. So, this year I decided to start a new tradition.
Friendsgiving!!
We decided to have it last weekend so it didn’t disrupt any actual Thanksgiving plans for those lucky people who wouldn’t be trapped at work. It was a potluck sort of thing. Everyone bringing their own specialty dishes. There was turkey, gravy, potatoes, and pies…
At one point in the night one of my friends asked if I’d tried her super special green bean casserole. I’ll admit, the fact that she asked me while snickering and whispering to the rest of the group had me a little on edge, but I dove in fork first anyway. I didn’t understand what the joke was until she divulged that her super special recipe (that was actually quite good!) consisted of her pouring a can of mushroom soup, a can of green beans, and a packet of dried onions into a crockpot. She knew I’d be less than impressed with her method had I not tried it first and tasted how delicious it was.
Now as you can imagine, I love this holiday. It’s the only day of the year people won’t look at you like you’re crazy for doing nothing but cooking for 12 hours straight.
So, what did I make? Well, even though I went a little overboard thinking I needed to bring several dishes, my main point of pride was my stuffing!
To be honest, up until a few years ago the only stuffing I made had come from a Stove Top cardboard box (reminding me of my green bean casserole friend). I was actually surprised to learn that a lot of people put meat in their stuffing! I guess my history with the dried boxed stuff had never exposed me to such a thing. On a day dedicated to having the turkey be the star of the show though, I would never presume to have an understudy like sausage make an appearance! Nope. Instead I packed mine full of veggies, fruit, and nuts!
This is a truly easy recipe with almost no hands-on time. Perfect for Thanksgiving (or Friendsgiving) when you’re surely going to have many other things to keep an eye on!
Prep Time: 15 min | Stove Time: 10 min | Oven Time: 25 min | Total Time: 50 min
Yields: ~15 cups
Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 large (or 2 medium) carrots, peeled and shaved
1 large (or 2 medium) celery stalks, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp oregano
1, 12 oz bag cubed or crumbled bread
2 granny smith apples, chopped small
¾ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup raisins
2 cups vegetable broth
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Heat butter in large pan. Add carrots, celery, onion, and oregano. Cook ~10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine bread, apples, walnuts, and raisins.
4. Once cooked, add carrot mixture to bowl.
5. Add vegetable broth a little at a time and gently toss to combine.
6. Transfer to a casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake ~25-30 minutes.
The Cook’s 2 Cents:
· Make sure when adding the broth, you’re careful not to break up the bread. I like to use my hands so I can be a little gentler.
· If you’re having a hard time discerning what is in fact the difference between a medium and a large carrot or piece of celery; the end result should be about a cup of each vegetable.
· For the carrots, I like to “shave” them. This simply means after I peel the outside, I continue to use the vegetable peeler for the rest of the carrot. I personally think the end result is less offensive than biting into a large chunck of carrot. (They also cook faster this way!)
· If you have an old loaf of bread lying around you can definitely use this once it has becomes stale. Simply cut it into cubes or crumble it yourself. Bread never really lasts long enough in my pantry to become stale so I choose to buy the prepackaged Pepperidge Farms bread instead. Plus, with all the other dishes you’ll likely be making at Thanksgiving—it’s just easier! But if you’ve got stronger willpower than me, go for it!
Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size: 1 cup
Servings Per Recipe: 15
Calories: 174 Fat: 6g Sodium: 445mg Carbs: 26g Fiber: 3g Sugars: 8g Protein: 4g
