Main Dishes
This is the recipe I have used for my Thanksgiving centerpiece for over 25 years. It has always been a favorite with everyone who has celebrated the holidays with us over the years.
Serves
See recipe
Prep time
1 hour
Cook time
1 1/2 hours
Ingredients
- 1 large loaf whole wheat bread, cut into cubes
- 4 ½-5 cups vegetable broth
- 1-2 onions, chopped
- 2-4 stalks celery, chopped
- 3 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons parsley flakes
- 2 1/2 teaspoons thyme
- 2 1/2 teaspoons sage
- 1 1/4 teaspoons marjoram
- 2-3 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
- Several twists of fresh ground pepper to taste
- 1 medium pumpkin or large winter squash
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Place the bread on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
- Place the broth, onions, celery and seasonings in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the top off the pumpkin or winter squash and save for a cover (as if you were going to make a jack-o-lantern).
- Clean out the seeds and stringy portion, leaving plenty of the squash flesh along the sides. Rinse well and set aside.
- Place the bread cubes in a large bowl, pour the cooked broth over the bread and toss well until bread is saturated with the liquid.
- Cover the bowl and allow liquid to be absorbed for about 10-15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings (adding more poultry seasoning and ground pepper, if needed).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the stuffing into the cleaned pumpkin and cover with the pumpkin top. Place in a large baking dish. Add 1 inch of water to the bottom of the baking dish.
- Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until fork pierces the side of the pumpkin easily.
Hint
To save some time, cube the bread the night before and allow it to sit uncovered in a single layer overnight. This will eliminate the need to bake the bread cubes in the oven for 15 minutes.
Source: NuSci legacy recipe archive. External reference: more of her recipes