Carnival of Recipes - Christmas in July!

As the holiday season approaches every year, virtually every member of my family is thinking about one thing.

STUFFING!

My mother & I both make the same stuffing that my grandmother made, that her mother made, and so on and so on. The recipe doesn't change, probably because it means so much to us. It means family. It means another meal that we share TOGETHER.

Sausage & Bread Dressing/Stuffing

1 1lb roll sausage meat (I use Jonesboro)
1 lg onion, chopped
3 loaves white bread, pulled apart into 1 inch pieces
a kettle of hot water
bells' seasoning
salt & pepper

First, you pull the bread apart. If you have kids, this is their job - and you have to make sure you remind them that the bread can't be too big, even if they've done it 100 million times.

While they're doing that, you can chop the onions - make sure they're not too big, because no one wants a big honking piece of onion in their mouth.

Now hurry the kids up.

Finally, the bread is ready - put it into a BIG stock pot - and then gradually add in the onions. Now, it's time for the sausage. You'll do this yourself, since it's raw meat - pull apart the same size pieces as the bread - not too big - you want it to blend well!

The next part is tricky, and completely up to you and your own taste. Pouring in the water. No one can tell you how much is ENOUGH - it's just a feeling. An intuition. But be sure you stir gently as you pour, making sure that each piece of bread is incorporated. Now, the next tricky part is the seasoning. Because this too is completely by intuition. Some people like it VERY seasoned (me), some don't (my mom). So sprinkle some in. Mix it up (but don't make SOUP out of it, for cryin out loud!) - now, I'm NOT suggesting you try the RAW MEAT mixture (although my mother's done it for 72 years without a problem, she'll tell you)- but you know - somehow, figure out how much seasoning is good for you. I'm guessing I use about 1-2 teaspoons of bell's seasoning. I then sprinkle the top with salt & pepper.

Next, it goes into a cooking-sprayed pyrex bowl or aluminum foil pan if you don't feel like washing it. Cook it until the top is good and crisp. You really can't OVERcook it unless, you know, you totally forget you were cooking it in the first place (shup heather).

My mother also uses this in her turkey - but I don't like the stuffing in a turkey (the bones, the BONES!) - but that's up to you (again, with the 72 years thing).

The thing is, ENJOY this - it is made with alot of love.

This recipe is submitted to the Carnival of Recipes for this week's theme of Christmas in July, hosted over at Christmas Recipes.