Meritt's Traditional Stuffing

I have a collection of perhaps a million or two (literally) recipes, and although I have a thousand for stuffings, I'm not sure why anyone would want to mess around with an already perfect food like traditional stuffing. "Sweet Potato with Persimmons and Plum Stuffing" or "Farro and Sausage Stuffing" or "Potato Stuffing" (which is basically a 'side dish' with WHOLE white potatoes - which completely ruins the whole 'stuffing' idea in the first place)... It's bad enough that I have memories of picking 'yucky raisins' out of my Grandmothers stuffing (even some of the adults had tiny little poop piles on the side of THEIR plates) but to add oddities just because you want to be 'different' is silly. Give me a good old fashioned stuffing and I'm in heaven. It's my favorite part of the meal!


OLD FASHIONED STUFFING

1/2 c onion, chopped
3/4 c celery, chopped
1/4 c butter
4 c bread crumbs and cubed
3/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/4-1/2 t poultry seasoning
1/4-1/2 t sage
1/2 - 1 c water
1 egg, beaten

Cook celery and onion in butter. Add this to the bread cubes in a large pan. Sprinkle with seasonings and add water and egg. Toss with a fork and stuff the bird.

*I sometimes add a bouillion cube to the water or use homemade chicken broth if I have it on hand. I also tend to double the onion, as I love it. The amount of water used depends on how dry your bread cubes are. I start saving 'bread scraps' about 2 months before Thanksgiving. The heals and last couple pieces of each loaf are laid out on the counter for 1-2 days until completely dried out. Then I break them into bite sized pieces and place them inside the bread bag. I add to this regularly until I have enough for stuffing. Sometimes I double this recipe, if we have a large turkey that year.

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

As I was looking at this I realized I almost never follow the directions so feel free to adapt this recipe to your personal style. I usually add a lot of veggies & serve it over rice.... sometimes I make it with beef or elk meat too. Go figure. The applicable Redneck Rule of Cooking that applies here is: Can you ever go wrong with cream cheese & ranch dressing mix?

Cream Cheese Chicken

:4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup melted butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 packets dry Ranch or Italian Dressing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 chopped onion

Brush chicken with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a Crock Pot and sprinkle 1 packet dry mix over all. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. About 45 minutes before done, brown onion in 1/4 cup of juices from Crock Pot. Add soup, second packet of dry dressing mix, cream cheese and chicken broth. Cook until smooth. Pour over the chicken and cover and cook another 45 minutes. Serve with sauce. Goes great with rice, stuffing, pasta or mashed potatoes! Add in broccoli or other veggies for variety.

Comfort foods -mashed potatoes

Ok, I know I already posted a goofy comfort food but I have one more to add. My boss makes this creamy, cheesy potato dish that I really wanted to post but I can't find the recipe. So instead I will just give you my cheater version of mashed potatoes.... make the potatoes however you usually do (I usually do them in the pressure cooker) and then add a tub of fancy herbed cheese.... Rondele or some other brand. Everyone will be calling you Martha... just remember to bury the tub in the trash so no one knows your secret.

If you have a choice, I prefer Crispin potatoes... they are like Yukon Golds but firmer. (Remember, my brother is a potato expert so I know these things....)

Comfort food: Meatloaf Subs

My mom gave me this recipe (I think it came out of the rural electric co-op magazine... seriously) and I laughed when I read it. Then she made it. It tastes much better than the recipe would indicate. My people are all about packing a good cooler lunch. (Sometimes you open your lunch box and find a can of pork-n-beans and a boy scout can opener...) So, to me, good comfort food is something that tastes good sitting in a dirt field in the middle of BFE....

Meatloaf Sub

2 lbs hamburger
¾ c Huckleberry BBQ sauce
2 eggs
1 tbsp fresh garlic
1 bunch green onions, minced
1 ½ c breadcrumbs
1 c crushed potato chips
Momma’s creamy coleslaw

Mix all ingredients to make meatloaf. Place meat mixture into lightly greased bread pan. Bake at 375 for 1 ½ hours. Let cool. Store in the refrigerator overnight. To make the sub: Slice meatloaf on sub bread of your choice. Lightly spread with wild huckleberry BBQ sauce. Top the meatloaf with creamy coleslaw.

Momma’s Creamy Coleslaw

1 ½ heaping tbsp Miracle Whip
1 ½ heaping tbsp mayonnaise
3 heaping tbsp sour cream
3 heaping tbsp milk
1 TSB mustard
1/3 c sugar
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp salt
dash of pepper
1 small head cabbage, shredded

Mix all ingredients, except cabbage, together to make coleslaw dressing. Add to shredded cabbage stirring until well mixed. Refrigerate overnight for creamier consistency.