Empty Nest & Comfort Food

As promised I'm back and will be posting on a more regular basis.  I have a bit more free time on my hands.  I'm sad to say that our home has become a "Empty Nest" my only child Anna has moved out.  Bill and I knew it was coming but that doesn't make it any easier and the fact that she moved out of state makes it even harder.

Bill and I are very lucky that we had and have a fantastic relationship with our daughter.  For 23 years we have watched her grow into a beautiful young woman and wish her nothing but the best for her new adventure.  We text everyday, talk every few days and once my new computer gets here we will be visiting via Face Time.

So what is a stay at home mom to do with more free time?  Cooking for one thing, my blog and working on my Etsy business HPLshop Hot Pink Lemonade.

It's been gloomy and rainy I think some comfort food is just the trick to get me out of the poor mom mood.  With the Holidays sneaking up on us fast I decided to try out a new stuffing recipe. I admire people who make their own stuffing, I'm not one of them.  I have used Mrs. Cubbison's stuffing mix for over 35 years and love it and don't plan to stop using it.  I might change which of the Mrs. Cubbison's I use or the ingredients I put in the stuffing but basically it is the same every time and my family loves it.

Mrs Cubbison's Smoked Bacon Stuffing

1 3 to 3 1/2 lb whole chicken, rinsed and dried

1 box Mrs Cubbison's Classic Dressing - Seasoned

1 cup diced celery, including leaves

1 cup diced onion

2 8oz cans sliced water chestnuts

12 medium to large mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (I like using crimini)

8 slices a good smoked bacon (I use Nueskes) cut into bite size pieces

4 large fresh sage leaves, julienned and rough chopped

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

In a large bowl add both bags of stuffing, celery, onions and water chestnuts.

Cut sliced bacon into bite sized pieces (helpful hint: freeze bacon for 20 minutes to make cutting easier). Cook bacon until done but not crispy. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease.  Add mushrooms to bacon grease and cook for 2 minutes (if too dry add 1 teaspoon of olive oil) add sage and red pepper flakes and cook an additional two minutes. 

Add bacon and mushrooms to stuffing mixture. Add butter and chicken stock and mix all ingredients together.  Remove enough of the stuffing mixture to stuff your chicken.  Place the remaining stuffing in a casserole dish.

Stuff chicken with the mixture and place chicken in roasting pan.  Rub chicken with the reserved bacon grease and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until chicken reaches a internal 180 degrees.  Place casserole dish of stuffing in the oven the last 45 minutes of the chicken cooking.

This stuffing will be on my Thanksgiving menu.

Until Next Time,
Pam