Turkey Stuffing With Very Low Sodium

KateL's Note:

Great tasting stuffing with very low sodium, suitable for heart patients, but anyone can enjoy this. Good texture, too. From Donald Gazzaniga's "The No-Salt, Lowest-Sodium Cookbook." This is only a challenge to "the slowest choppers in the Western Hemisphere" who don't have a food processor handy. Anyone else can slash my preparation time. To keep the sodium very low, it is important to make your own very-low sodium bread, such as Italian Milano Sourdough Bread from the same book. In a pinch, use a low-sodium white bread, some groceries stock it.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 12

Yield: 10.0 cups

• 1 1/2 lbs italian milano sourdough bread, toasted and cubed
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups onions, chopped
• 2 cups celery, chopped
• 2 cups mushrooms, chopped
• 2 medium apples, medium to large apples, chopped
• 1 cup dry-roasted pecans, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder with parsley (Lawry's California Blend)
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1/2 cup dried apricot, chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Bake Italian Milano Sourdough Bread in bread machine. Slice ten 3/4- to 1-inch slices from loaf. Toast each side on an ungreased baking sheet in your oven under the broiler until just golden brown. Cool and cut into small 1/2-inch cubes. You'll get about 16 cubes from each slice of bread.
2. Melt butter in large saute pan or 6-quart pan.
3. Saute onion, celery, mushrooms, apples, and pecans together.
4. When vegetables and apples are cooked through, add bread crumbs and spices.
5. Coat with buttered mixture and add apple juice to moisten. Add optional dried apricots.
6. When ready to bake, put mixture into lightly oil-sprayed baking dish (9 x 13) and bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-30 minutes. If it's been refrigerated, heating time will take longer.
7. Serve hot.

Reviews

[NorthwestGal]

Wow, you wouldn't even know this was a low-sodium dish. It tasted every bit as good as my family's traditional Thanksgiving stuffing recipe. It's very tasty, and the combination of apples mushrooms, nuts and various spices made it a good side dish for the roast chicken that it was served with. I made this for Please Review My Recipe tag game, and I'm glad I did.