Mom's Stuffing

One of the things I've been wanting to do is start getting all the family recipes recorded in one place and this seems like a good time to start.

One of my very favorite recipes is MoMo's Stuffing recipe. It's the only stuffing I've really ever had ... and I can't imagine that another could ever really compare.

The story behind the stuffing is that mom got the recipe from her good friend Ruthie Kern back when they all lived on Britton Road. I'm guessing that would be the early 1950's. The recipe was originally attributed to Ruthie's Grandma Colgrove (her mother Elsie's mom.) Since Ruthie would be in her 80's now, I'm guessing that puts this recipe about 120 + years old. I remember my mom telling me that back when Great-Grandma Colgrove (as I called her) made this recipe, they had to not only make the bread but also the crackers from scratch in order to make it. Making stuffing was a lot of work!

Anyway, here is the recipe.

Mom's Turkey Stuffing

Single batch (enough for small turkey):

1 loaf fresh Bread
1 stack Saltine Crackers
1 medium Onion
2 cups Milk
2 sticks Margarine (or Butter)
Sage
2 Eggs

To Double (enough for large turkey):

1 ¾ loaves fresh Bread
2 stacks Saltine Crackers
1 large Onion
3 cups Milk
2 ½ sticks Margarine (or Butter)
Sage
3 Eggs

Cube bread (using an electric knife really speeds this up!) and crumble crackers. Chop onion. Mix together in large bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, heat milk and margarine over low heat in saucepan until margarine is melted and milk is hot. Pour over bread mixture and let stand for 5 minutes. Add sage to taste.

Beat the eggs until fluffy and fold in. If too soupy, add more crackers. If too dry, add another egg. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff turkey. If baking stuffing separately, place in greased casserole and cover. Bake at 325 for about one hour.