Stuffing Muffins















This tasty variation on classic stuffing makes great use of leftover bread. Adapted from my recipe for the Phantom Gourmet television show.


Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 12-15 muffins

INGREDIENTS
Muffin cups
1 loaf (1 ½ lbs) sliced whole wheat bread
1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
6-8 strips bacon
1 small (pool ball size) onion, ¼ inch dice
3 stalks celery, ¼ inch dice
1 apple, cored, ¼ inch dice
2 eggs, whisked
1-2 cups chicken stock
½ cup chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with muffin cups, or spray with cooking spray. Cut the loaf of bread into cubes about ½” across. Place bread cubes in a large bowl, sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Now cook the bacon until crisp in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove bacon strips to paper towels, pour off excess fat, and cook the onions and celery in the remaining bacon fat for 4 minutes, stirring. Add the apple and cook for another minute. Turn off heat in skillet, scrape mixture into the bowl of bread cubes, and stir. Add the eggs, 1 cup of chicken stock, the parsley, and the bacon, and stir gently to spread the moisture throughout. The mixture should be moist enough to cling together when squeezed with light pressure between your hands. If necessary, add a little more broth. Using your hands collect a baseball-size sphere of stuffing mixture, squeeze slightly so that it clings together, and place in a muffin cup. Make sure that this is the muffin shape you want, because these muffins won’t rise as they cook. Repeat until mixture is used up and other muffin cups are full (if you have extra stuffing mixture, make a few more muffins or a small loaf).

Slide muffin pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until muffins are crisp on the outside.

Serve as a side dish with your favorite oven baked meal. Roast fowl are a natural.

Variations: Add raisins, chopped apricots, toasted nuts, and other fun things to Stuffing Muffins.

Served up by Tod Dimmick

No comments: