Foodie Friday: Holiday Stuffing

I admit it. I like Stove Top Stuffing. It's easy to make and has all that bready, salty goodness. But in my household growing up it was almost sacrilege to eat stove top when you could make something a little closer to scratch. When Mama makes stuffing, she does it right.

Ingredients:
4 stalks celery cleaned
1/2 large Vidalia onion chopped
Stick of butter, melted
2 bags Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing
2 32 oz. containers of chicken broth

First clean and cut up your celery. This means scrubbing all the dirt and crap off of the stalks - with a brush if necessary - and cutting off the bad spots, including the stalky end. Chop the celery into about 1/2 inch pieces and set them aside. Then dice up your onion into cubes as well.

On the stove, put your stick of butter into a saucepan and let the butter melt - I usually do this on a lower heat so I don't have to watch it to keep it from burning. Put your celery and onion into your melted butter and allow to simmer until the onions start to turn translucent and the celery softens up.

Pour your two bags of Pepperidge Farm stuffing into a large bowl and pour in your onion/celery concoction. Thoroughly stir in the onions and celery. Then add your two boxes of chicken stock.

Here's where it gets messy folks. Take your hands and dig in! Mix in all the yummy goodness until all the dry stuffing has been covered. It might still look a little dry, but allow it to settle a few minutes and everything will get absorbed.

Then put your mixture into a casserole dish and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. That last step gives it a bit of a crispy top. Enjoy!