Good Old Country Stuffing

Ingredients

• 2 loaves oven-dried white bread (recommended: Pepperidge Farm)
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• 1 sleeve crushed saltines
• 1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 7 cups chicken stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 stick butter, melted
• Mushroom Giblet Gravy, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Crumble oven-dried bread into a large bowl. Add rice and saltines.

Cook sausage in a large skillet until it starts to brown. Add celery and onion and saute until transparent, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour over bread and rice mixture. Add stock and mix well. Add salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning. Mix well. Add the beaten eggs and melted butter. Mix well. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the stuffing mixture for the Mushroom Giblet Gravy.

Pour stuffing into a greased pan and bake until cooked through and golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Mushroom Giblet Gravy:

• 4 cups turkey or chicken stock

Giblets from 1 turkey

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 tablespoons reserved stuffing mixture

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 cup cold water

2 pints button mushrooms, sliced

3 tablespoons butter

1 hard boiled egg, sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring stock and giblets to a boil. Add bouillon and reserved stuffing mixture. Make a slurry by whisking together the cornstarch and water and add to the boiling stock; cook 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile, saute mushrooms until browned in butter. Add mushrooms to gravy with egg and salt and pepper, to taste.