Stuffing Balls 101

Hi!

I know Turkey Day is just around the corner and you've stumbled upon my little blog and this recipe for Stuffing Balls, and I thank you for visiting  I first posted this recipe back in 2008. I did a follow up post a year later which you can see >>>>>here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Why do I giggle every time I say that? Funny as they sound, these stuffing balls of which we speak are one of my husbands favorite things on earth. If you are one of the people who loves the crunchy, crust part of the Thanksgiving stuffing, then this recipe is for you.

This is my mother-in-law Carol's recipe. The stuffing recipe is her Grandma's but she adapted it by rolling it into balls so her family would stop fighting over the crispy parts when it was cooked in a conventional pan. Thus was born Carol's Stuffing Balls. She has been making these for a very long time. Since Mom was here I decided this was the perfect time to do a photo tutorial on them so we can all share in the love of the great stuffing ball.

First you break up a buncha bread and let it sit and go stale.

We ripped up a bunch of stale buns and leftover bread the night before and just let them sit and dry out a bit.

Those hands belong to my camera shy mother-in-law.

Please note the gold and black Steelers bracelet that one of the neighborhood kids so graciously made for her and then turned around and charged her a buck for it! Huh!

The next day we cooked celery and onion in some olive oil and a half a stick of butter.

We cooked them until they were tender and translucent.

Now it's time to spice up the bread. We added:

Fresh parsley, fresh sage, Italian seasonings, salt, pepper and minced garlic.

You can add whatever spice you like, but Carol says you must, must, must always include sage.

Now take the celery and onions and add it to the bread mixture.

Heat up about 2 cups of chicken stock, just until it's warm.

Add the chicken stock to the bread. You want it moist but not soupy.

Then....mix it up....

...while your adorable pooch sits with his chin propped up inches away from the pan, watching your every move hoping that something will drop on the table.

Now get your hands in there and start making some balls baby!

They are about the size of a small baseball as you can see from the photo.

Keep rollin' till there's none left.

Then line them up on a baking sheet lightly greased and covered in foil. Bake for approximately 1 hour at 350, turning once at the half hour mark. You want them nice and brown and crispy on all sides.

Let those bad boys rest for about 5 minutes, then serve piping hot!