• Chop 1/2 cup of onion, 2 garlic cloves, and 1/2 cup of celery
• Add the onion, garlic, and celery to the butter and seasoning mixture in the skillet and sauté together until the onion and celery are slightly translucent and starting to soften
• In a separate cup whisk together 1 cup of chicken, veggie, or turkey stock and one egg
• Combine bread cubes, veggie and seasoning mixture, and stock/egg mixture and toss together until all the bread is coated.
• Allow to sit for 5 - 10 minutes so the bread soaks up all the moisture.
• Then bake as outlined in the basic recipe

• Bacon or pancetta  -  cube the bacon or pancetta into bite-sized (or smaller) pieces, sauté the meat first before adding the seasoning and veggie to your skillet. Once the bacon or pancetta are cooked to your desired crispiness, continue with the recipe as above. (Do not remove the bacon fat from the pan!)
• Kale, Brussels sprout leaves, or other leafy green - this add in goes well with the bacon/pancetta or can be used on it's own, with the onion, garlic, celery to add more nutrition and veggie to the stuffing. Tear the greens into small pieces and sauté in the skillet with the butter and other veggies before adding in your stock.
• Replace 1/2 cup of the stock with a dry white wine. Add this to the cooked veggies, seasonings or other add-ins before adding the stock, allow the wine to simmer for a minute or so to cook out the raw alcohol taste. Then add in 1/2 cup of stock. You may want a splash more stock if using this variation, since some of the wine will evaporate. This can be used with any combination above.
• Instead of white wine, try a dry sherry!
• For a little heat, add in about a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flake before baking. More if you want more heat.
• Fresh herbs - add in any combination of fresh herbs you like! Chopped fine, and stir in to the mixture after combining the bread cubes with the stock mixture. I especially like sage, parsley, thyme, and oregano with this! Try some tarragon if you're feeling adventurous.
• Speaking of sage - crisp up some whole fresh sage leaves in a small amount of olive oil, butter, or bacon fat and add to the top right before serving. It's delicious and a tad fancy. ;)
• Instead of butter, use an infused olive oil. Any garlic or herb infused oil would be delicious as a replacement for the butter (also will make this recipe vegetarian if you leave out the egg!).
• Instead of using plain salt, consider using a flavored salt! A great option is my Basil Salt (sold here!). 

Need to buy and bake later?

If you need to purchase a kit (or two) and bake it more than a day or two after purchase, we recommend that you move the bread cubes into a freezer bag and place in your freezer. On the day before you want to bake the stuffing, take the bags out of the freezer and let the cubes thaw. Then proceed as above to bake your kit.