How to Spice Up a Stuffing Mix

Everyone wants to make dishes from scratch for holiday meals, but do we really have the time? Here are directions for taking a boxed stuffing mix and making it look and taste like stuffing made from scratch.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fresh sage leaves
• 2 boxes stuffing mix
• Fresh mushrooms
• Fresh celery
• 1 medium onion
• Cuisinart or food processor
• A good set of knives
• 1/4 cup butter
• A medium saucepan

1. Chop the onion using a Cuisinart or similar food processor.

2. Cut 2 stalks of celery into bite-sized pieces.

3. Slice 1 package of mushrooms into thin slices.

4. Melt the butter in the medium saucepan under medium heat until melted.

5. Add the onion, mushrooms and celery. Sautee until soft.

6. Add stuffing mix croutons or cornmeal crumbs plus water per the instructions on the back of each box.

7. Toss in spice mix, plus 1 tablespoon of cut fresh sage leaves to the mix.

8. Stir over low heat, until all is well blended. Use to stuff a turkey, or to sit aside until the rest of the meal is ready.

Tips & Warnings

• Add more butter if the mixture looks dry.
• Adding part chicken broth in place of the recommended water adds more meaty flavor to the resulting stuffing.
• If you want more flavor, add dried cranberries or currents to the mixture.
• Make sure your stuffing doesn't dry out--if there is some time between when it is done and your dinner, add more melted butter or water to the mixture.