peas at a party

It’s just not Thanksgiving without the stuffing. Or is that dressing?

Stuffing or dressing? Sage or not? Cornbread or white bread or both? Apples? Oysters? Nuts? Sausage? In the turkey or in a baking dish?

My answers? Dressing, sage, both, no, no, no, no, no.

Everyone has an opinion about “the” perfect dressing. Or stuffing. See? We can’t even agree on what to call it. With such strong opinions about what makes the perfect dressing, when every part of the country and almost every family has its own only-way-to-make-it and must-have ingredient, why would any sane person jump into this fray? Three reasons.

First, dressing is easy—time-consuming, but easy. So if you’ve been intimidated but would like to give it a try, here’s a basic recipe to start with. You can add your own touches. See the make-ahead schedule below to simplify it even further.

Second, although stuffing will never be on the Cookie Monster’s Anytime Foods List, this version uses some lower fat substitutions and has about 67% of the calories of the USDA “average” home-prepared stuffing. It also weighs in at 31% calories from fat rather than 44%. It’s a great example of what a little substituting can do. Just don’t tell anyone, and they’ll never know the difference. By the way, this recipe evolved from the 1964 Joy of Cooking, but I notice that it is very close to Paula Deen’s Southern Thanksgiving version, which I see will be repeated tomorrow morning.

Third, the cooking technique is a great convenience and stress reliever. It saves precious oven space and results in dressing that is both moist and fluffy. If you have your own favorite dressing (or stuffing, if you must), you still might want to give this cooking method a try.

• Three days (or up to three weeks) before Thanksgiving, make the cornbread. Cool, crumble, and freeze.
• Two days (or up to two weeks) before Thanksgiving, toast and cube the bread if you’re not planning to use prepared cubes. Freeze if you’re doing this more than two days before.
• One day (or up to two weeks) before Thanksgiving, chop the celery and onion. Saute and add seasonings. Freeze if you’re doing this more than two to three days before.
• Also, one day before Thanksgiving, thaw any frozen ingredients in the refrigerator.
• Thanksgiving morning, mix the cornbread, bread, eggs, and vegetables with the seasonings. Add the broth and it’s ready to cook.

Of course you can do all of this at the last possible minute. That works too. Trust me on this; I have experience.

Slow-Cooker Cornbread Dressing

Serves 20-25; about 60 minutes prep; ready in 4 1/2 – 5 hours

• 8 cups* cornbread, crumbled
• 8 cups (about 1 lb) white bread cubes*
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 1/2 cups finely diced celery, about 8 stalks
• 3 1/2 cups finely diced onion
• 8 Tbsp light butter, sliced
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried tarragon
• 2 tsp dried sage
• 2 tsp paprika
• generous 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup fat-free egg substitute, such as Egg Beaters
• 2 cups* fat-free, less sodium chicken broth

Combine the crumbled cornbread and bread cubes in a huge bowl. Set aside. Melt the butter over medium low heat in a large skillet. Add the parsley, celery, and onion. Saute until the onion is transparent, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the light butter. Sprinkle with the salt and next 5 ingredients. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Whisk together the eggs and egg substitute and pour over the bread mix. Add the vegetable and seasoning mix. Stir, folding gently.

Spoon into a slow cooker and cover. Turn to High. Pour about half the chicken broth around the edges of the cooker. Cook on High for 30** minutes. Pour the remaining broth around the edges. Stir the stuffing around the edges into the center of the pot. Cover and turn to Low. Cook for about 3** hours, stirring the edges into the center about every 45 minutes. Add additional broth around the edges, if/as needed.

Per 2/3-cup serving, approximately 156 calories; 5.4 g. fat; 22.8 g. carbohydrates; 6.1 g. sugars; 1.1 g. fiber; 4.8 g. protein

* Ingredient notes

• Two boxes/packages of cornbread mix, made with low-fat substitutions, makes just over 8 cups.
• At the bakery in your market during the holiday season, you may be able to find bread cubes already prepared. They are perfect and a big time saver. If you are preparing your own, bakery bread rather than pre-packaged is strongly recommended.
• To substitute fresh herbs for the dried, you will need three times the amount specified.
• You can add in nuts, fruits, oysters, or browned sausage per your preference.
• Check the seasonings after about 2 hours and adjust as needed. (Our last test needed a bit of additional broth and salt added during cooking.)

** Cooking notes

• The timing given is for a newer (hotter) model slow cooker. In my old (cooler) one, I cooked the dressing on High for 45 minutes and on Low for 5 hours. Adjust the timing according to your experience with your cooker. The heat settings on slow cookers changed in the late 1990’s.
• The dressing may also be baked, covered, at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, uncovering it during the last 15 minutes if you like it browned on top.