Apple pecan stuffing

Apple-pecan stuffing

Adapted from “Fit Food: Eating Well for Life” by Ellen Haas. While purporting to be healthful and all that, mostly it seems to be recipes that are good food for you on the face of it, rather than books that rely on gimmicky substitutes to improve the "goodness" factor.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 medium onions, chopped

4 celery sticks, finely chopped

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored  and chopped

4 large sprigs thyme

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

5 cups bread, preferably whole wheat and a few days old

2 cup chopped pecans

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

½ cup broth

Method

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and celery and cook over medium heat until soft. Add apples, thyme leaves and sage and cook until apples are softened, but still look like cubes.

Stir apple mixture into a greased baking pan. Mix in bread, pecans and parsley. Add broth to moisten and season with salt and pepper. (Can be refrigerated for up to 2 days at this point.)

Cover pan with foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 minutes or so more, until it starts to brown at the edges.

Rating: This recipe is like a cross between two stuffing recipes I make, one that’s the traditional rosemary, sage, thyme variety and one that’s like apple-pie meets stuffing. I like all three. I might prefer the other apple stuffing variety, but this one is quite nice too, especially with the crunch and flavor of the pecans.  Certainly it was an admirable way to use up some ends of loaves before they went bad, and the make-ahead factor makes it a week-night approved dish that I'd make again.