There was not much thought for dinner tonight! Is that the norm lately? It was a busy day including a little Christmas shopping. Good thing my little tantrum scene-maker passed out in the car before said shopping or else it wouldn't have happened (it was for him)...Geeez, it's not even Thanksgiving yet. I am on a big Christmas kick this year. Andrew knows about Santa and what he's bringing... We've been playing "Seasonal Favorites" (aka Christmas) music channel on t.v. and now I'm thinking of what cookies and gingerbread houses to make and when....
Anyhow, on to stuffing! Store bought! Low sodium is the way to go. Or else you will die. Haha, kidding; I tried the sodium-laden stuff and it was, well, too salty (this coming from one who salts pizza and butter-on-bread).
I learned from making this fabulously simple box mix twice already and likely having unused leftovers, just divide the mix in half. The recipe on this box is for the uninformed cook. Please, try not to use canned condensed Campbell's soup in recipes. Gross. Just learn how to make a roux.
Before that, cook your chicken. Even better if you have some leftover cooked chicken on hand. I used a large frozen breast, thawed on low in the microwave for 15 minutes then plunked in some simmering Swanson "organic" chicken broth from a carton. I used all but 1 cup of the carton and promptly bagged and froze the unused portion. Cooked the breast, covered, for 15 minutes. Halfway through (since it still seemed frozen in the middle when I put it in) I cut it in half, then quarters to help it along.
Chicken out of broth, onto cutting board. Half of broth removed to 1 cup measure (which I let cool then also froze) and remainder poured into a bowl. Make the condensed-soup alternative: 2 TB butter, melted on medium heat. Whisk in equal amount of flour (I probably used less).
Cook, stirring constantly. The flour should not turn too brown, just bubble for a bit.
Pour in the broth. First a splash, then whisk, then another splash, whisk, then you can add the rest without risk of it clumping up.
I know I didn't use enough flour so I turned up the heat to boil it down. The ratio should be 1Tb butter :1 TB flour :1 cup milk (or broth).
This was not a problem since I needed to cook those frozen veggies! The boring box recipe calls for cooking then adding them. So they turn to mush?I also tried adding sour cream. You don't want to do this when the mix is boiling or close to that point or it will clot up. I used a heaping small spoonful. This added a nice tang. You might also want to try plain yogurt.
While things calmed down for a bit, Andrew helped sprinkle in some seasonings. The rosemary shaker is nice and slow-dispensing.
These were tonight's seasonings of choice (and ground pepper).
Topped with the prepared stuffing then a small amount of cheddar left in the fridge.
400 degrees, 15 minutes later. Everything in it is already cooked so the point is that you want it to brown and melt the cheese. Allow to cool for 10 minutes or else serve to your plates then cool.
