Here, at NowCar, we love to talk about car technology and upcoming features. We’re also human and know everyone needs a little break around the holidays. Turkey Day is next week (November, 24, 2022), and we all can find way to say thanks to the special people in our life. They say the way to someone’s heart is through the stomach, so why not make something homemade and add some spice to your life? Here are two great recipes, one for some interesting turkey stuffing, and a simple sweet treat.

Sausage and Herb Stuffing

Everyone knows stuffing goes into a turkey, but it’s a lot more than bread crumbs. Over the years, folks have begun to stuff turkeys with bread cubes and fresh fruits, adding a citrus taste to the meat. For those that want to add a meatier taste to the turkey, this can also be done, with sausage for example.

Ingredients

•       16 cups of 1-inch bread cubes (white or sourdough will do)
•       ¾ pound of sweet or spicy Italian sausage
•       1 cup chicken stock
•       1 stick of unsalted butter
•       2 yellow onions
•       1 cup of celery
•       2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
•       1 tablespoon of kosher salt
•       1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
•       2 unpeeled Granny Smith apples
•       1 cup of dried cranberries

Instructions

1.       Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper and place the bread cubes along the pan. Bake for 7 minutes.

2.       After baking, set the bread cubes aside in a large bowl.
3.       It’s time to get things going with large saute pan. Melt the butter.
4.       While heating things up, chop the onions and celery into medium chunks. For the apple, make them a little larger for that hint of citrus.
5.       Once heated, add the parsley, salt, and pepper into the pan. Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes. When the vegetables are see through, that’s a good sign to turn off the heat.
6.       Add this mix to the bowl of bread cubes.
7.       Keep the left over sauce in the saute pan, because we’re going to cook the sausage in the used pan over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until the sausages are nice and brown.
8.       So here where things get tricky. We hope that saute pan is strong, because we’re going to cut up the sausage with a fork while still cooking in the pan.
9.       A little at a time, add the stuffing (bread cubes mixed with the fruit and veggies mix).
10.   Although optional, but those cranberries and chicken stock will add a little more flavor to the mix.
11.   Mix it all together and then pour the mixture into a 9 by 12-inch buttered baking dish.
12.   Bake it for about 30 minutes. When the stuffing is brown on top and hot in the middle, we’re golden.

Pecan Puffs

That last one was a little complicated, but it will pay off. Now for something a little simpler, but is still award-worthy. A nice little sweet treat, pecan puffs will always wow at the dinner table come time for desserts. Made up of two parts, there are two sets of ingredients.

Shell Ingredients

•       2 cups of all-purpose flour
•       8 oz of cream cheese
•       1/2 cup of softened butter

Instructions

1.       First, the easy part. Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl until it looks like a crumbled pie.
2.       This will require two or three miniature muffin pans, because they will help bake the shell shape we’re looking for. Roll the mixture into little balls and press them into the mini muffin pans to create she shell shape. Really get in there with your thumbs if that’s what it takes.

Pecan Filling Ingredients

•       2 eggs
•       2 cups of light brown sugar
•       A little bit of salt
•       1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
•       1 1/2 cups of chopped pecan nuts

Instructions

1.       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.       Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.
3.       After it’s all blended together, pour the filling into a cupcake pan with a spoon. Fill each cupcake up to the brim of the shell, but don’t go overboard.
4.       Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 250 degrees and bake for 10 more minutes.

We said that last one was easy, but the sweet is well worth it. If you choose to try any of these recipes this year, share some pictures with us on NowCar social media. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo Source/Copyright: Sarah Pflug