Stuffings

STUFFING SATISFIES THE taste buds without taxing labor or stretching the budget. You can purchase stuffing mixes that come with the fixings: bread or cornbread cubes and seasoning packets. Better yet, make your own stuffing. Preparing stuffing is as easy as tossing bread cubes with spices, herbs, and enough liquid to moisten.

First, allow fresh white bread, wheat bread, or cornbread to dry long enough so that you can cube it. Be sure extra sweet roils and muffins are dry enough to chop. Save the end slices of white, wheat, and sourdough bread for savory stuffings, as well as extra cornbread, dinner rolls, and crusty French and Italian bread for sweet stuffing.

For savory stuffings, combine coarse fresh or dry bread cubes with vegetable or mushroom broth, remembering that fresh bread cubes will soak up more liquid. Add sauteed or steamed minced carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, cut corn, canned tomatoes, cooked lentils, pearl onions or peas, and seasonings that best complement the rest of the meal. Dry poultry seasoning is fine to add flavor, or you can use your favorite dried herb and spice combos.

If you are making sweet stuffings, combine finely diced fresh or dry bread cubes with liquid, such as apple, orange, or pineapple juice, or liquid drained from canned fruit. Then, add chopped canned peaches, apricots, pears, or plums; minced dried apricots, prunes, or figs; raisins; dried cranberries; canned crushed pineapple; shredded carrots; frozen, thawed sliced raspberries; shredded coconut; crushed nuts; or chocolate chips. To season, combine ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, mace, and a pinch of doves along with fresh or dry lemon or orange zest. Press mixture into loaf pans, baking dishes, or muffin tins, and bake until thoroughly heated.

You can easily enjoy great stuffings during any time of the year. Prepare extra stuffing, bake in muffin tins, and freeze until needed. Never refrigerate or freeze uncooked stuffing. Cook it, cool it, and freeze it. When ready to use, don't let stuffing thaw. Just heat it in the oven or, for individual portions, in the microwave.

Stuffings can be served as a meal or incorporated into any part of a meal. Fill tomatoes, peppers, sweet onions, zucchini, butternut squash, or mushroom caps with savory stuffing, and serve as an entree or side dish. Savory stuffings are a pleasant alternative to potatoes, rice, and cooked grains. Load fresh apples or canned peach halves with sweet stuffing, or place a scoop of sweet stuffing on a dish with a pineapple ring to make a sweet side dish or dessert.

In fact, sweet stuffings make a good base for carrot and zucchini bread or for desserts, such as bread pudding. Begin with dry bread and muffins. Finely dice the bread so that it can absorb maximum moisture. Bake and freeze, then reheat when needed. Serve dessert stuffings with heated maple syrup or applesauce, chopped canned fruit, a scoop of sorbet, or crushed fresh or canned pineapple.