Traditional stuffing

Stuffing (or more accurately, dressing) is something that I could happily eat every day, not just when there's a turkey involved.  Over the years, I've messed around with my dressing recipe.  Below you'll find a list of almost everything that I might throw into a batch.  But not all these ingredients are actually in every single batch...there's a lot of room for experimentation.  Like maybe adding more bacon and leaving out the carrots? :-)

Traditional Stuffing

Cooking spray
8 slices of whole wheat bread
3-4 slices of bacon
Bacon grease or 2 T olive oil
3 celery ribs, finely chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
1 c carrots, shredded
Black pepper, freshly ground
1 1/2 t poultry seasoning
1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 c dried cranberries
1 c sliced almonds
1 1/4 c chicken broth
1/2 c skim milk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350. To bake the stuffing outside the bird, prepare a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Toast the bread until dry and lightly toasted. Cut slices into 1/2" cubes without removing the crusts. Place bread cubes in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Fry up a few slices of bacon until crisp.  Set aside and remove most of the bacon grease from the pan. 
Reheat grease or olive oil in over medium heat. Add celery, onions, and carrots and cook until tender, about 7 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add to the bread cubes. Add pepper and poultry seasoning and toss to combine. Stir in crumbled bacon, parsley, cranberries, and almonds.

In a liquid measuring cup, stir together broth, milk, and egg with a fork until combined. Pour over bread mixture and stir to distribute evenly. Transfer stuffing mixture to the prepared casserole dish and cover with a lid or foil. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, until set. Remove lid or foil and bake an additional 5 minutes to toast the top of the stuffing.