I became convinced a long time ago that stuffing a turkey was foolish because it increased the required roasting time and simply dried out the turkey flesh. Thus, I always recommend baking the stuffing separately in an ovenproof glass casserole. There is no lost flavor. Just do it.

Ingredients: (Eight to ten servings)

• One and one half regular size [22 to 24 oz.] loaves of bread cut into cubes (about 25 cubes per slice)
• ½ cup of Butter
• 1 1/2 cups of diced Onion
• 1 1/2 cups of diced Celery
• 1 teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of Pepper
• 2 teaspoons of a mixture of equal parts of dried Sage, Savory, Thyme and Marjoram, or, 1/2 tsp. of each
• 14 oz. can of Chicken Broth, with the broth heated to simmering temperature in a saucepan

Directions:

Fresh bread should be used for a soft and moist stuffing while dried bread is best for a lighter stuffing. Bread cubes can be dried either on a cookie sheet in a 180ºF oven for fifteen to thirty minutes or on a plate in a microwave oven.

Melt the butter in a skillet.

Sauté the onion and celery in the butter until they are softened.

Add the seasonings and mix well

Add the skillet contents to the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl and mix well by hand.

For moist stuffing, add a small amount of hot chicken broth (you decide how much) and mix well. Do not make soggy stuffing by adding too much chicken broth.

Put the stuffing into a 13" by 9" by 2" ovenproof glass casserole.

Bake the stuffing for 30 minutes at 325ºF and check for doneness. If it is the way you like it then it is done. Otherwise bake it for 15 minutes longer and check it again, but do not exceed one hour total baking time or you will have very dry stuffing.