(a Mrs. CB guest post)
I have such great memories of holiday dinners growing up: The sound of my mom cursing under her breath (‘Holiday? HOLIDAY?? Whose holiday? Not the cook’s, that’s for %&!#@ sure!’); the rustling of my dad’s newspaper while he sat at the kitchen table, determined to spend ‘quality time’ with ma on the one day when she really, really needed his butt out of her kitchen and out of her way; and, of course, the traditional Hernandez family dishes.
Delectable concoctions that made their appearance at our table only during the holidays. Stove-Top stuffing bubbling away in an aluminum pot on the range, canned cranberry sauce chilling in the fridge and, of course, my mom’s Stuffing Bread.
Nope, ma wasn’t real keen on homemade anything. Ours was a 100% Hispanic household located in Southern California. My mom tried her hands at making tamales ONE time and decided it was way too labor intensive and from that point on if we wanted tamales, we bought ’em at Trader Joe’s. Frozen.
One of the things she did make, semi-homemade and on the holidays only, was her Stuffing Bread. Now technically this isn’t exactly her recipe since many years after I was grown she ‘fessed up that it originally came from one of her numerous ‘ladies magazines,’ but that was well over 40 years ago and since I don’t know what she adapted from the original recipe, my husband, The Cheap Bastid, has rechristened it Mama Stella’s Stuffing Bread in my mother’s honor.
Recipe: Mama Stella’s Stuffing Bread
Summary: Here’s a quick recipe for a tasty, aromatic bread dish for the Holidays or any occasion.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf store-bought, unsliced French bread
- 1 stick of margarine or ½ cup of soft,tubbed margarine, butter substitute or butter at room temperature
- ¼ c. minched onion (red, white or yellow, or a mix thereof; whichever your family’s taste buds prefer or whatever you have on hand should be fine);
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
Instructions
- Get out your cutting board, a good serrated knife, chef’s knife, tablespoon, medium bowl and aluminum foil.
- Mince the onion on the cutting board and put it into the bowl. Add the room temperature butter/margarine and the poultry seasoning. Mix it thoroughly.
- Wipe down the breadboard, then put the loaf of bread down and slice the bread into about 1 inch thick slices.
- Use the back of the tablespoon to slather the butter mixture on one side of each slice.
- Reassemble the loaf on the foil and wrap the prepared loaf tightly.
- Put it into the oven during the last 20 minutes of baking your holiday dishes.
Remove and serve.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 20 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
The result is a delicious and savory bread, a little crusty and crunchy on the outside, moist and delicious on the inside that’s good straight out of the oven and just as delightful if you grab a room-temperature slice or two for a snack later.
At our house ma would serve stuffing and mash potatoes and yams and stuffing bread. This is probably starch overload for most folks but it brings a good point to mind: If you’re culinarily challenged like me or need a workable substitute for traditional stuffing or just a fast and cheap contribution to the office potluck, this recipe fills the bill.
My mom always made two loaves: One for the meal and one for the grazing that happens in the days following the holiday. It’s super easy, super fast and super cheap. And it’s nearly guaranteed that once you incorporate it into your own holiday meals, your family will clamor for more.
Want more of Cheap Bastid’s Thanksgiving Dinner? Here’s a couple of links:
For the Full Menu: http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/a-cheap-bastid-thanksgiving/
For my Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing recipe: http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/cornbread-and-sausage-stuffing/
For “Mushroom Soupless” Green Bean Casserole: http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/holiday-green-bean-casserole/
For the Turkey: http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/the-bird-is-the-word/
That’s the Mrs. CB Way: Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!
Walter, I am going to try this with gluten free bread.. Looks too yummy not to.
HUGGGGGGGGG
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Thanks for the great recipe, Mrs. C.B.! I bet this bread would be absolutely great used in a leftover turkey sandwich!