My Favorite Thanksgiving Stuffing

It's almost here! It's almost here! Thanksgiving is almost here! Thanksgiving is totally my fave holiday! I love everything about it... it's so low key - there are no cards to send. There are no gifts to wrap. The whole thing is about gratitude, being thankful for what you have, friends and family. Throw in some football and THE FOOD and I am in heaven. 

I stuff my turkey with herbs, onions and apples, so I don't know if this is "stuffing" or "dressing" but whatever you want to call it, it's my favorite part. (For the record, mashed potatoes and gravy second, turkey third, sweet potatoes forth, cranberry anything fifth, rolls sixth, and that weird green bean mess last - in case you wanted to know.)

My Favorite Stuffing (Dressing?) - adapted from Sunset Magazine
Makes one LARGE side dish. Serves 8.

Preheat the oven to 350 (if you are making this with a turkey, preheat to turkey temp.)

3/4 loaf of soft French bread
1 1/2 cup milk
1 pound sausage (I used chicken sausage)
1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 garlic clove
1 medium onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 pounds chopped Swiss chard
1/2 cup chicken stock (or water)
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage (or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage)
Salt and pepper

Cut bread into 1/2 inch slices. Place slices in a large bowl and add milk. Mix gently with a spoon to moisten all slices and set aside while you chop up all the veggies.

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Squeeze sausage from casings and cook meat, crumbling as it cooks. Add in mushrooms if using, and the onions, celery, parsley and garlic. Cook until meat is done and onions are beginning to get tender - about 5 minutes. Add chard and 1/2 cup stock and cook until chard is wilted. About 10 minutes. 

As the chard wilts, squeeze bread slices and break into small pieces. Add 1 cup of the Parmesan, chopped sage, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Fold in meat mixture. Spoon everything into a buttered baking dish and top with the last bit of Parmesan. Bake 30 minutes or until the inside reaches 150 degrees. 

We had this with baked chicken thighs and a spinach salad. It was a great Sunday night dinner - a perfect prep for Thanksgiving!

A few things about this recipe...
The original recipe calls for 2 pounds of meat - I like to up the veggies and lessen the meat to make for a lighter side. A pound of meat is still a lot of meat. 
I've cooked this with a turkey three times. It's very forgiving and you can adjust your cook time and temperature a lot. 

Enjoy!!

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