Turkey and Stuffing Casserole

This is another Facebook recipe that will come in handy on Friday or Saturday to use up your leftovers (if there are any).
Then it is back to Pizza on Monday.












Turkey and Stuffing Casserole

Ingredients

• 6 oz. bacon
• ½ bunch celery
• 2 medium apples
• 1 medium yellow onion
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• as needed salt & pepper
• 1 large loaf french bread
• 1 tsp chicken base
• ½ bunch fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 6 lbs. bone-in turkey pieces

Instructions

1. Cut the bacon into small pieces by cutting across the strips. Cook bacon in a large pot until crispy. While the bacon is cooking, wash and cut the celery, onion, and apples into a dice.
2. Add the onion, apples, celery, and garlic to the cooked bacon. Saute just until slightly softened (about five minutes). Turn off the heat and add the thyme, sage, freshly cracked pepper, and salt to taste.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If your bread is fresh, slice it and place it in the oven as it heats up to dry it out. Or, buy the bread a couple of days ahead of time and allow it to dry out or get stale on your counter top. Once the bread is dry, cut it into small cubes. Also wash and roughly chop the parsley. Add the cubed bread and parsley to the cooked vegetables and bacon. Stir until everything is well mixed.
4. Mix one teaspoon of chicken base with one cup of hot water. Pour this over the bread mixture and stir until everything is well coated. Transfer the stuffing mixture to a large 9×11 inch glass casserole dish.
5. Unwrap the turkey pieces and rub the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Arrange the turkey pieces over the stuffing in the casserole dish. Place the whole dish in the oven and let roast, uncovered, for one and a half hours. The turkey skin should be brown and crispy and the stuffing should be bubbling around the edges. Allow the casserole to rest for about 10 minutes before serving. This will allow the stuffing to soak up some of the moisture and solidify, as well as the turkey juices to redistribute within the meat.

Enjoy
The Old Guy