Stuffing Balls Revisited

Are you one of those people who always goes for the crunchy part of the stuffing? (I know some of you call it dressing, but here in New England we call it stuffing). Do you scrape the bottom of the pan so you can savor every last bite of crispiness? Then do I have a recipe for you.

Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner I thought it might be time to re-visit my mother-in-law famous stuffing ball recipe.



Yes, you read that right, I said stuffing balls.

I posted the recipe for these about a year ago, and I have to tell you that a year later, I still get a dozen hits a week for this recipe and it really starts to gain interest every November. So for those of you that didn't catch it the first time around, I thought I'd make up a pre-Thanksgiving batch.

You can see the original post here.

There is no "recipe" per say. I just use up any old bread I have laying around, rip it up into small pieces, and then give it a good soak with some chicken broth (I used about 2 cups for this batch, you may need more or less depending on how much bread you have). I cooked up a few stalks of celery and a medium size onion that were both chopped. I threw in a half a stick of butter and a little olive oil. This time around I had some mushrooms in the fridge that were on their way out so I chopped those up and threw them in the pan too. It's really a very versatile recipe. I suppose you could even throw in some ground sausage or pork too. Hmmm...I'll have to try that. I'm giving myself ideas, lol.



Once your veggies are softened, mix them in with the bread, add some seasoning (fresh parsley, fresh sage, Italian seasonings, salt, pepper and minced garlic). Then grab a big spoon and start to roll the mixture up into balls. Yes, it will be a bit messy, but once you sink your teeth into that crunchy, crispy crust, the mess is all worth it. You can dampen your hands while you're rolling to make it a bit easier.

Place them on a sheet pan lined with foil. Spray the pan with some non-stick spray. Bake them for approximately 45 minutes at 350, or until golden brown and crispy all over. I turn mine at the 30 minute mark so they get nice and brown on both sides.



These are right up there on my husbands list of his ultimate favorite foods. You can serve these with some gravy if you'd like, but they are pretty much perfect just as they are in my book.