Doctored Pepperidge Farm Stuffing
Pepperidge Farm herb-seasoned stuffing upgraded with spicy and sweet chicken Italian sausage, browned mushrooms, onion, celery and red pepper, fresh parsley, lemon zest and a touch of maple, bound with roasted chicken stock and eggs and baked until golden.
Servings 12 servings
Ingredients
- 2 bags Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing 10 oz each
- 2 links chicken Italian sausage 1 spicy and 1 sweet, casings removed
- 16 oz sliced mushrooms 2 packages
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 3-4 ribs celery diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 4 Tbsp butter plus a few small pats for the top
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- black pepper to taste
- 2½ cups chicken stock Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base stirred into hot water
- 2 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- ½ cup fresh parsley chopped
- ½ lemon zested
Instructions
- Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F and butter a 9x13 baking dish.
- Brown the sausage. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage, breaking it into small pieces, until browned and cooked through. Move it to a plate.
- Brown the mushrooms. In the same pan, cook the mushrooms without stirring too much until their liquid cooks off and they turn golden, 8–10 minutes. Set them aside with the sausage.
- Cook the vegetables. Melt the butter in the pan and add the onion, celery and red pepper. Season with the sage, oregano, poultry seasoning, smoked paprika and pepper. Cook until soft, 8–10 minutes.
- Make the binder. Whisk the eggs into the warm (not hot) stock.
- Build the bowl. Pour the stuffing cubes into a large bowl. Add the parsley and lemon zest, pour the stock and egg mixture over, and drizzle in the maple syrup. Add the mushrooms, sausage and vegetables with all the butter from the pan. Toss gently until everything is evenly moistened. If you see dry cubes, add a little more stock.
- Bake. Spread the stuffing in the dish and dot the top with a few pats of butter. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 20 minutes more, until the top is golden and crunchy and the center reaches 165°F.
Notes
Taste before you salt. The stuffing mix, sausage and bouillon are all salty. Taste after tossing (before baking) and add salt only if it needs it.
Make ahead: assemble the day before, cover and refrigerate. Add about 15 minutes to the covered bake.
Bake it in a dish, not the bird. It cooks evenly and gets a crunchy top.
Gluten-free guests: swap the mix for gluten-free bread cubes dried in a 300°F oven for about 20 minutes, and add extra sage and poultry seasoning to make up for the seasoning in the bag. Check that your sausage and stock are gluten-free.