Italian Stuffing Food

BEST EVER ITALIAN SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the cubed bread on a baking sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until dried and toasted. They should be golden brown. Transfer the bread cubes to a very large bowl.
• Add 2 cups of broth (I used vegetable) to a large sauce pan. Heat on medium-low.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the sausages over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage with a fork while cooking. I didn't find ground sausage so I bought sausage in the casing and removed it from casing before browning it. Use ground sausage if you found it.
• In another skillet, add the other part of oil and butter (I used vegan butter sticks to keep it dairy-free)in medium heat.
• When it is heated up, add the onions, celery, parsley, sage, rosemary or thyme. Add just a dash of salt and pepper, if you like. Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.
• Add the browned sausage, toasted bread to a large bowl. Next, add in the onion mixture.
• Add in one cup of the broth. With a large spoon, gently stir the ingredients together. Add in the whisked egg. Gradually add the remaining broth 1/4 cup at a time until the stuffing is wet. With each addition, gently stir and pat the stuffing ingredients together. Take care not to over mix it, you're just combining it all together. The goal is to have it wet, but not soaked and drippy. You may need the whole 2nd cup of broth and you may need less. You may even need a little bit more than a full 2 cups of broth.
• When the broth is soaked in and combined, spoon the stuffing into a 2qt. baking dish (or 9x12-inch baking dish); then cook for 30-40 minutes, or until it's heated through and golden brown on top. Check it at about 25 minutes and if it seems to be browning too much, cover with foil paper. I baked mine a full 40 minutes. Every oven is different. You may even need to bake it a few minutes longer to get that nice golden brown and have the inside fully heated through.
• Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with additional parsley, then serve.

GRAMMA CARUSO'S SICILIAN STUFFING

Steps:

• Heat oil in skillet, add onions and cook until slightly tender. Add all the ground meat and incorporate with fork. Add salt and pepper and garlic. Cook until half done, then add mushrooms, and continue cooking until meat is done. Do not drain.
• Put in large mixing bowl and add cooked rice. Toss, add bread crumbs, cheese, milk, and egg. Sorry guys, now ya gotta use your hands. Mix together, again add salt and pepper to taste. When fully mixed, add your chicken broth or water, more if you want a moist stuffing.
• There should be plenty to stuff your turkey, plus a full baking dish on the side. I put the baking dish in the last hour, top with 2 tablespoons butter and cover.

LUCIA'S ITALIAN STYLE TURKEY STUFFING

Steps:

• Prepare stuffing as indicated, but replace water with wine.
• Saute onions, celery and mushrooms.
• In seperate pan, cook sausage thoroughly and remove grease. You can substitute salami for sausage if you like and also provolone for mozzarella, or both!
• Add ingriedients and mix well.
• Enough for 14lb. bird.

ITALIAN STUFFING WITH SAUSAGE AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, bell peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until it loses its pink color, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the basil, oregano, salt and crushed red pepper. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Stir in bread cubes and Parmesan. Stir in butter, wine and enough of the stock to moisten the stuffing, about 1 cup. If not being used to stuff the turkey, place in a buttered baking dish, cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes to form a crust.
• Note: If bread is very fresh, cut it into cubes, spread out on a baking sheet and let stand for several hours to air-dry.

ITALIAN STUFFING WITH PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Melt butter in medium skillet on medium heat. Add peppers and onions; cook 5 to 7 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
• Whisk eggs and chicken broth in large bowl until blended. Add stuffing mixes, cheese and cooked vegetables; mix lightly.
• Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray
• Bake 30 min. or until heated through.

SOUTHERN ITALIAN THANKSGIVING STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a deep 9x13 inch baking dish or roasting pan.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the sausage. Cook and stir until the sausage is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease. Place the browned sausage into a large mixing bowl.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pancetta begins to brown, stir in the onions and celery, and cook until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, and cook another 3 minutes until the aroma of the garlic mellows.
• Scrape the onion mixture into the bowl with the crumbled sausage. Add the French bread, cornbread, dried sage, poultry seasoning, salt, and pine nuts; stir well. Pour in the chicken broth and mozzarella cheese; stir until the chicken stock has been absorbed by the bread and the stuffing is evenly mixed. Pack the stuffing into the prepared baking dish, and dot the butter overtop. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, then remove the foil, and continue baking until the top has turned golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Sprinkle with the fresh sage and shaved Parmesan cheese to serve.

ITALIAN STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine 1 1/2 cup Italian cheese blend, garlic, basil, and oregano in a bowl. Combine Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs in a separate bowl.
• Cut one side of each chicken breast through the middle horizontally to within one-half inch of the other side. Open the two sides and spread them out like an open book. Lightly pound chicken to flatten. Fill each chicken breast with Italian cheese blend mixture and close like a book over the filling. Coat the outside of each chicken breast with egg; press bread crumb mixture over egg layer to coat each chicken breast. Arrange chicken breasts in a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Pour spaghetti sauce over cooked chicken; top with 1/4 cup Italian cheese blend. Bake until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, about 5 more minutes.