Monday, November 24, 2014

Slow Cooker Dressing

Like so many of us, I am gone for many hours each day. With our lovely Houston drive time, I am gone about 11 hours, door to door. When I get home, I am not in the mood to cook dinner. This Set & Forget 6 Quart Programmable-Slow Cooker from Hamilton Beach is making my life so much easier! I do the prep work the night before and put it in the slow cooker before I leave for work. We also have a single oven. I have fond memories of my double oven at another house. This slow cooker is going be invaluable to me during the holidays. I will be able to make desserts (bread pudding which Mark loves), sides, hot drinks and, of course, more dressing and leave the oven for the big turkey. For this challenge, I roasted a whole fresh chicken and it accompanied the dressing, which was incredible.

Slow Cooker Dressing
by Sharyl
Adapted from this recipe for slow cooker stuffing

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
12 cups dry bread cubes (I used white bread and dried mine on trays in the oven – 170 degrees, for about an hour)
2 cups chicken broth (or as needed)
2 beaten eggs

Over medium heat, melt butter in a large pot. Add onion and celery and cook until onions are translucent. Stir occasionally. Add the parsley and cook for a few more minutes. Add the poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper and stir. Add 1/2 the bread cubes and 2 cups of chicken broth and the beaten eggs and mix to combine. Add rest of bread cubes and mix. Depending on what kind of bread you use and how dry it is, more chicken broth may be required to moisten the dressing. Transfer dressing to slow cooker and cook on high for 45 minutes and low for an additional 4 to 8 hours. Do not clamp the lid in place. The clamps are for transport only. Stir occasionally and add more chicken broth if needed. Heat the chicken broth before adding more. I did not need to add more broth. I wanted the dressing to be moist, but not wet. Enjoy!

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