Recipe for Almost Old Fashioned Turkey Stuffing

Stuffing is great any time of year; it's not only for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love making stuffing because it brings me closer to my dad. Dad did everything the old fashioned way. I loved tasting his stuffing before it went into the turkey. I called it 'raw stuffing,' but of course it wasn't raw.

Even as a little girl I helped my dad make stuffing. He'd tell me to go wash my hands really good, and to come back to the table. He gave me loaves of what he called 'day old bread,' which was bread that didn't get sold and would be sent back to the bread man.

I sat at the table and broke up the bread into neat squares with a butter knife. I was 7 or 8 years old at the time. While dad was dicing up the onions and giblets I would be doing my job of making a big bowl full of bread cubes. He'd start putting all the herbs and spices in the stuffing and then he would let me mix it up with a big wooden spoon. The aroma of sage would permeate my nostrils and it was heaven. Every time I smell sage I think of my dad. I learned so much from him. He was truly a connoisseur in my eyes.

I make stuffing, but I don't make it just the way he did with all the extra labor; I'm a bit of an almost homemade kind of cook. I'll sometimes take a recipe of my dad's and make it my own by putting my own little twist on it. To me, making stuffing takes me back to my childhood, and I remember the good times. Dad loved it when I wanted to help him in the kitchen.

Here's my version of my dad's old fashioned turkey recipe:

Here is what you need:

1 large casserole dish
1 - 1 pound bag of seasoned stuffing mix
1 cup of onion
1 cup of chopped celery
3/4 cup of butter
2 and 1/4 cups of water
1 teaspoon of sage
Cooked chopped turkey giblets (optional)
1 cup of sliced almonds
1 cup of cranberries
PAM spray

Here is what you do:

Saute the onion and celery in the butter until the onions are clarified. Add the water. Take the sauce pan off the heat and add giblets, cranberries, and add half of the almonds. Now slowly add the stuffing mix until the moisture is all incorporated. Spay the casserole dish with PAM spray, and empty the stuffing mixture into the dish. Top with the remaining sliced almonds.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!