Mary Grace’s Thanksgiving Dressing

By Layla Troyer

    It’s that time of year again; Thanksgiving. A holiday to be grateful for what you have, spend time with family and friends and eat good food. It’s a tradition at my house to have turkey, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, and dressing. Dressing is popular this holiday season, but many confuse it with stuffing. Stuffing is defined as a seasoned bread mixture used to stuff another food, usually poultry meat, while dressing is a similar mixture that is cooked in a pan. 

My Grandmother, Mary Grace, was the one who came up with the recipe for our family dressing, and my Mom perfected it. If you’d like to try and make it for your family or friends this Thanksgiving, here’s our recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 large package of Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing

• 1 large package of Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Stuffing 

• 1 medium loaf of French bread (torn into pieces)

• 1 medium Onion, finely chopped

• 4 stalks of Celery, finely chopped

• 1 Can of Cream of Chicken Soup

• 2 boxes (32 oz.) Chicken Broth (Optional: 1-2 cans for reheating leftovers)

• 2 sticks of butter

• 3 large eggs (beaten)

• 1 TBSP Poultry Seasoning (Add more if needed)

• 2 tsp Garlic Powder (Add more if needed)

• ½ tsp Black Pepper

• 1 tsp Sage

• A pinch of Sugar

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 475° F.

• Add your packages of stuffing and pieces of bread loaf in a large bowl.

• Finely chop the onion and celery. Saute the onion and celery with the 2 sticks of butter until soft and translucent. Add the can of cream of chicken soup to the pan and stir until well mixed. 

• Add this mixture to your bowl of breadcrumbs/bread pieces. Next, add the chicken broth. 

• Season the dressing with pepper, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, sage, and sugar. 

• Taste your dressing and season it to your liking (with seasonings such as salt, garlic, onion, etc) if needed. 

• Add the beaten eggs. Mix well.

• Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and no longer jiggly. 

Tip: If you rewarm leftovers, use some chicken broth to keep the dressing from drying out.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving dish!