Fresh stuffing is so easy to make at home. It is great for re-heat turkey platters and for gobbler sandwiches.

Made from scratch stuffing is the best.

If you have leftover bread that you don’t want to throw out, make this stuffing. With a few ingredients, stuffing is great with pork chops, too.

Holiday Bread Stuffing

12 cups of bread cubes, dried (If you have homemade bread fresh or frozen, even better!)

1 ½ cups of diced celery

2 ½ cups of diced sweet onion

½ cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter plus more for the pan

3 cups of chicken stock

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons of fresh sage, finely chopped

1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, finely chopped

Salt & black pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan, melt 1 stick of the unsalted butter over medium heat. Add in your celery and onion. Saute until the vegetables are translucent. While these ingredients are cooking down, place your bread cubes into a large bowl. Add your cooked vegetables. Chop parsley and other herbs and put them into the stuffing bowl.

Mix your chicken stock with your eggs, and your salt & pepper to taste. Pour this chicken stock mixture over your bread cubes and gently mix, not to break up the bread cubes.

Place the stuffing into a buttered 9 x 13 casserole dish. Cube and distribute evenly the remaining butter over the stuffing. Cover with a cut-to-fit piece of parchment paper, then seal the casserole with foil.

Let the casserole set for 30 minutes before baking. You can also store in the refrigerator overnight. Then, set the stuffing out, to come back to room temperature before baking. (Cook’s Note: You want even baking, so baking starting with room temperature is best.)

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes covered. Then, bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes, uncovered to brown the top.

Sarah Schweitzer is dual-certified in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry from the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts (www.escoffier.edu). She is a former line cook for Chef Robert Irvine at “Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine” which was located at the Downtown Allentown Market. Sarah is currently working as a Sous-Chef and pastry chef at Ateira’s on First. She can be reached at sarah.schweitzer18@gmail.com.