Yes. I just added a word to the dictionary. I know, that's a little bit Rachael Ray of me, isn't it? Oh, and also? I just used Rachael Ray as a verb. That's just the way I roll. But it's also beside the point.
What I really wanted to talk about today is planning. Holiday planning. In truth, although deep down I know they're coming, the holidays usually sneak up on me. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and though I usually spend at least three weeks planning for it, it's never enough. Never enough in that I rarely get around to actually testing out any new recipes before using them. Yes, I'm the kind of girl who makes recipes for the very first time on the holiday. The day before or the day of the big dinner. Because, while I've always spent enough time pouring over glossy new magazines as well as trusty worn cookbooks and yellowed clippings looking for new twists on old favorites, I've never actually had the time to try a few of them out to see if we will actually enjoy them.
I started with an easy one. Something that everybody loves. Stuffing. Although technically, I suppose I should call it dressing since it is not actually stuffed inside of anything. But I grew up calling it stuffing. I think the only person I ever hear call it dressing is my grandma. The thing is, I like my stuffing with crispy bits. Wet, mushy bread is just not my thing. And I figured that portioning the stuffing up into individual servings and baking them in muffin tins would give me plenty of crispy bits. And I was not wrong. Every person is guaranteed a little crispy-domed portion that is moist and flavorful on the inside.
Multi-Grain Bread, Pecan, & Dried Fruit "Stuffins"
by
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 minutes
Keywords: bake side bread apricots cranberries nuts Christmas Thanksgiving American fall winter
Ingredients (serves 8)
- 5 slices Nature's Pride Multi-Grain Bread
- ¼ c. brandy
- ¼ c. dried cranberries
- 3 Tbs. butter or olive oil
- 1 small onion, small dice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large rib celery, small dice
- ⅓ c. pecans, toasted & chopped
- ¼ c. dried apricots, small dice
- handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 Tbs. fresh sage, julienned (or 1 tsp. brushed sage)
- few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped (or ½ tsp. dried thyme)
- ½ tsp. whole fennel seeds
- ~1 c. chicken stock or broth
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- softened butter, for muffin tins
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 275°F.
Lay bread slices on top of one another, lining them up. Use a bread knife to cut them into ½-inch cubes. You should have ~4 cups of bread cubes.
Spread bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Slide tray into oven and bake for ~ 25 minutes or so, until bread is dry (not toasted). Shake and stir the bread cubes around a few times during cooking.
Place cranberries and brandy in a small pot and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let sit while you get everything else ready.
In the meantime, heat the butter or oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery; saute until translucent and just tender, ~5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly.
Increase oven to 325° F.
Combine bread cubes, apricots, veggie/brandy mixture, pecans, parsley, sage, thyme, and fennel in a large bowl. Gently toss with the broth and the egg. Season with salt and pepper.
Slather 8 compartments of a muffin tin with some softened butter and divide stuffing mixture evenly among them. Slide into oven and bake until deeply golden and crusty, ~30-35 minutes.
As soon as the Stuffins come out of the oven, run a thin-bladed knife around the edges. Use a large spoon to help you pull the Stuffins out in one piece.
This does not have to be baked into "stuffins". You can just as easily pile it into a well-buttered baking dish and pile it in. Increase cooking time to ~45 minutes. You can also use this as dressing and stuff it inside a bird or pork chops and cook through.
For a change, substitute different types of dried fruits, nuts, or herbs. You can also use different types of Nature's Pride "hearty" breads like 100% Whole Wheat, 12-Grain, Nutty Oat, Hearty Wheat with Flax, or Country Buttermilk to suit your tastes.
Spray a muffin tin and push the rounds into the holes, pushing down and mashing a bit...you know, kinda like you did when you smashed your bread from your sandwich at lunch in elementary school. (Just don't ball it up...come on, you did it...admit it!)
Cook your bacon until it is about 1/2-3/4 of the way done. I just zapped it in the microwave...but you can do it on the stove top or in the oven...it's up to you.
Roll the bacon up into the toast cup and sprinkle in a little cheese. Stick 'em in the oven for 5 minutes or so to get the cheese melty and the toast starting to...well...toast. So, technically, I guess I should say...and the bread to start toasting. I have to say this because I know it would drive me crazy if I saw it somewhere else. Next, crack an egg into a small bowl and then slide it into the middle of the (now) toast cup. The cup probably won't be big enough to hold the whole egg, so hold back some of the white. Once you've filled as many as you want, use the extra white and another egg and stir them up into scrambled eggs and fill up another toast cup or two with that. Waste not, want not. 
Bake them until they are set/cooked. Seems like it was 10 minutes or so. 
Enjoy as is or with some salsa or pico de gallo or hot sauce.... 
