Herb Stuffing

This is THE traditional Harris/Campbell recipe. In 1969, when Gaylon & Judy were living in base housing at White Sands, New Mexico (during the Vietnam war), they invited a family from the branch to come over for Thanksgiving Dinner. Mom says, “We thought it would be more fun to have them help with the preparations, so we had them come the night before. When it was time to mix up the stuffing ingredients, Kay Baney, who was not a small woman, said “I know how to do this.” She literally rolled up her sleeves, stepped up to the bowl, plunged in, and kneaded the ingredients into a compact ball.” This is why, if you’re mixing up stuffing around Grandma Harris, Dad, or Mom, you can count on being asked, “Are you getting ready to knead that?” By the way, Mom and I just had an interesting discussion about the difference between celery “stalks” “bunches” and “ribs.” This takes half of a bunch (package? stalk?) of celery—6 to 8 ribs.

3 qts. slightly dry bread crumbs

1 ½ t ground sage

1 ½ t thyme

1 ½ t rosemary

1 ½ t salt

1/3 c chopped parsley (Judy omits)

½ stalk (bunch) celery

2 lg onions, finely chopped

1/3 c butter or margarine, melted

1 c chicken broth

Saute onions and celery in butter until transparent. Combine bread, seasonings, parsley, onion, and celery. Add broth and toss lightly to mix. Makes 8 cups, or enough stuffing for 10 lb. turkey.