Kim's Kitchen - Comfort Food Made Easy

Think Stuffing is just for Thanksgiving - Think again….

The weather has quickly turned here in the High Desert of California.  The clouds have rolled in and there is snow in our local mountains.  You know what this means, less outside grilling and more inside comfort cooking.  Foods that fill the house with the smell of rosemary, sage and the yummy scents of fall.

Earlier, this week I found chicken half breasts on sale for .99 a pound, so I bought a couple of packages.  I also had a half a loaf of french bread left that I had picked up at the bakery.  Since celery, onion, mushrooms and dried cranberries are a staple in my kitchen I decided I would make homemade stuffing and roasted chicken breasts.

I started by breaking my loaf of french bread into bite size pieces in a large bowl. 

Then I cut and sauteed my veggies; I used one whole onion, 3 celery stalks, a couple hand fulls of mushrooms, one granny smith apple and a tablespoon or so of garlic.  Add your garlic once your other veggies are nearly soft or translucent so as to not get that burnt garlic taste.  I also used about a quarter pound of bulk breakfast sausage for some added flavor.  If you have fresh sage, cut some up and put it in at the same time you add the garlic.  Dried/ground sage works just as well.  Make sure you are adding salt and pepper as you go. 

Once your veggies are nice and soft, add them to your bread bowl.  Add some chicken broth and I always, always put dried cranberries in my stuffing.  It adds such a great flavor.  Mix well.  Make sure your bread is nice and moist.  Nothing is worse than dry stuffing.  Like Bobby Flay says, “if you think your stuffing is moist enough, add more liquid.”

I put my stuffing mixture in the bottom of a large roasting pan.  Spread it out evenly.  Next, I seasoned my chicken breasts well with salt, pepper and of course my Pampered Chef Rosemary Herb Seasoning.  In the same pan I sauteed my veggies, I added a couple tablespoons of butter and browned the chicken breasts two at a time.  I placed them on the stuffing and continued until all the chicken was browned. I poured the pan drippings right on the chicken when I was done.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees (f).  Cover the pan with foil and bake for approx 45 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear when poked with a fork.

To go along with the chicken and stuffing, I made a salad using mixed lettuce, shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese, dried cranberries and topped it with ranch dressing.  And at the request of my daughter Kasey, I made a quick green bean casserole using frozen green beans, a can of cream of mushroom soup, a cup of milk and some french fried onion that were also on sale.  Bake that for approximately 40 minutes or until the soup is thick and bubbly.  

With the exception of just a couple of things, I had everything in my kitchen to make this delicious and satisfying dinner.  The stuffing was amazing.  You will be surprised how much better the stuffing tastes when you use fresh french or sourdough dough bread from the bakery.  Make sure it’s a day or two old when you make your stuffing.  You need it somewhat stale to absorb all of those wonderful juices. Once you try this you will never go back to bagged stuffing mix. 

My proof - Kasey is not a stuffing eater.  Never has been.  Last night she had two helpings.  This is sure to be a hit in your house too.