The BEST Stuffing Ever

Stuffing really is a funny concept when you think about it.  You take bread that was once at the perfect moisture content and dry it out, only to sog it up and then put it in the oven to partially dry it up again.

Like I wonder who thought “MMMmmmm” I bet soggy bread is DELICIOUS!!!  But right they were and I will forever be in debt to them for their contribution to this world.  Stuffing is hands down my FAVORITE part of Thanksgiving.  I could do without turkey, pumpkin pie…..those are just fillers in my world.  That soggy bread takes center stage!

Luckily….I also happen to make the best damn stuffing out there!  Now normally I’m not one to be super cocky….but when ya got it ya got it…right? 💁  And man does this recipe got it! 

 

I spent 10 years just throwing it together always meaning to measure and actually “write” a recipe of what I was doing and finally wrote it down just last year.  Just in time too because I’ve gotten 3 requests just this week to share it.

So what makes it so dang good?

 Well first, start with a good bread.  Something soft but not too soft, chewy, but not too chewy.  (Sounding a little Goldilocks right?)  Basically, you don’t want mushy Wonderbread and you don’t want the bread that’s so chewy you have to rip into it like an animal.  My perfect in between bread that is also cheap and accessible is the Italian loaves from the Walmart Bakery.  Bonus points too if it’s the herb loaves! 

The next key point is the sage sausage.  I love the flavor that the sausage adds and by using the sage variety you really give it that Thanksgiving taste.  You crumble and brown it as finely as you can and then keep all the glorious fat.  That’s right, not draining the fat here….it’s vital to the final outcome!

Next up, butter.  Did you think that the sausage drippings was enough fatty goodness?  Well it’s not!  Now you melt in some butter.  Don’t be disgusted….just trust the process……

Mushrooms.  Yep, there’s mushrooms in it.  You might be tempted to leave them out, but I really think you should keep them in.  They’re chopped up finely so even all the so called mushroom haters in my family still adore this stuffing.  Being chopped up fine they blend well into the whole mix without biting into any big chunks.  They just impart a great texture and flavor that I think would really be missed.

There’s obviously more in the recipe (as you’ll see below), but these are the ingredients that I think really make it.   One thing I didn’t do when I was writing this all down last year was the actual bake time.  You’re going to have to kind of navigate that one for yourself.  I usually bake it covered with foil at 350-375 for at least 25 mins before I uncover it and bake it longer until some of the top and edges are crispy and it has dried out a bit.  You can bake it to whatever moisture point you like it.  Just start checking it after 20 mins to see where you are at.   Think you can handle that? Hope so…..cuz you don’t want to miss out on this pan full of delish.

Before baking

After Baking

The BEST Stuffing Ever

3 14oz loaves of Italian bread, cubed

2 medium onions, small diced

1 head celery, small diced

2 lb. sage sausage

1 lb. mushrooms, finely chopped

1 lb. butter

1 tb. kosher salt

The leaves from 15-20 sprigs of thyme (you can do this to taste, I like 20)

4 cup chicken broth

Lay bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in a 300 oven until dry.

Brown and finely crumble the sausage. DO NOT DRAIN THE FAT.  Lower the heat to medium and add the butter and melt.  Add in the onion, celery, and mushrooms and sweat until the veggies are translucent.  Stir in the thyme leaves and salt.

Pour in bread cubes and toss the bread around to coat in the fat as evenly as possible.  Add the broth and stir until all the bread is moistened.

Spread the bread mixture into a buttered baking dish and cover with foil.  Bake in a 350 oven for at least 25 minutes, checking to see how moist the bread is still.  Bake uncovered an additional 10-15 minutes or until you stuffing reaches your desired amount of brown and crispy on top and is as dry or moist as you prefer.

So there ya have it!  If you end up making it I would love to hear!

So I Did the Vogue Wine & Egg Diet....

Last Thursday I was scrolling through Facebook

book as I do faaaar too much, and came across this diet that was posted in Vogue back in the1977

The diet itself is actually from a book written by Helen Gurley Brown in 1962 titled "Sex and the Single Girl".  According to Wikipedia (yes, we here at The Busy Broad do extensive research and fact checking before publishing) the book was "written as an advice book that encouraged women to become financially independent and experience sexual relationships before or without marriage." By 1964 the book was adapted into film.

Helen went on to write several other progressive books for women and later become the editor in chief for Cosmopolitan  for 32 years.

Okay okay.....enough of the history lesson....back to eggs and wine!

So I discovered this on Thursday night and by Friday evening I was loading bottles of wine and steak into my shopping cart.  I figured, what better way to understand the women who came before me than to partake in the crash diet of their time.  It's how we bring the generations together damn it!  We can all only hope that someday our great grandaughters will be filling their carts with cayenne pepper, maple syrup, and lemons.

(This is in reference to the Master Cleanse for those that need a little help......I never actually did it myself but it was alllllll the rage a few years ago)

Saturday Morning I made the announcement that I was taking the plunge!!

And then I got to it!!

DAY 1


Considering the general lack of food in the "diet", I thought it best to sort of combine it with half assed form of intermittent fasting (which I have done successfully in the past) to make it a bit easier on myself.  I find it much, MUCH easier to abstain from eating in the morning than at night, so even though I was up at 5:45. I didn't end up having my first round of coffee, egg, and wine until about 10:30.

Let me tell ya.....It's kind of a fucked up combination.  Coffee....then straight to wine? Yeesh! Between the straight caffeine of the coffee combined with the extreme temperature difference of the hot coffee and chilled wine.....oh my.  Tsunami tummy was in full effect.

I sat on the toilet and thought.... "This. THIS is how you lose weight on this diet"  You shit your brains out.  Plain and simple.

But don't get me wrong.....I'm not opposed to a good bout of diarrhea.  No siree bob!  In fact, I welcome it on (most) occassions.  For many years I've suffered from the exact opposite bowel condition, so a case of the Hershey squirts leaves me feeling a bit lighter, sqeaky clean on the inside, and with a smile plastered on my face as I flip on the fart fan and make my way out my bathroom door (and ONLY my own bathroom door...I can't do the doo anywhere else, hence some of my issues)

After some quality time with John, I waited 3 more hours before I had more coffee, TWO eggs, and TWO glasses of wine.  (I know what you're thinking.....how gluttonous of me!)

It was...whatevs.  Not too much you can say about it.  

Another 3-4 hours later I had my dinner.  I skipped the coffee (disqualify me now!) and just had my steak with lemon and the last of the bottle of wine (which is another 2 glasses)

I went to bed that night really wanting a crispy chicken sandwich.  Just thought you would want to know that in case this type of side effect is worrisome to you.  After all,  I did do this for YOU.....my readers, my people. 

Day 2

 Day 2 was basically the same shit as Day 1.....minus the shit.  There was none of that.  It makes sense though.  After the purge the day before I don't think there was much else to be rid of except my steak from dinner and that decided to just camp out a bit. 

I was a bit more preoccupied with the idea of just WANTING to eat on Day 2, but overall still felt ok physically.  No major complaints besides the fact that it's boring.  I just used it as an opportunity to try and focus on other projects rather than what to eat.  I will say, once you kind of push aside the crappy parts of it, sometimes a super restrictive diet can be nice for a short period of time. Yet another reason why I enjoy intermittent fasting and even Whole 30.  Clear cut rules while hard can actually end up making things easier on you (hard but easy....kinda confusing, I know).  It's a simple yes or no rather than trying to weigh out the responsible decision in the moment....know what I mean? 

Anywho....Day 2 plugged along as it should.

Day 3

So this diet is supposed to last 3 days, but I only got to do it for 2...because work.  I think nursing a bottle of wine over the course of your work day MIGHT be frowned upon when youre employed by a school district, but I'm not too sure.  Maybe I'll check the employee handbook for clarification.

The Results

The diet claims you'll lose 5lbs in 3 days.  In the 2 days I was able to do it, I lost 3lbs on the nose, which is just shy of the 3.33 it would roughly be with the 5lbs evenly spread over the 3 days.

  That pretty much puts me right on a middle line.  Maybe I would have lost the full 5, maybe not. We will never quite know....and we're all just going to have to live wit that.

Overall Review

 If the idea of being on a "diet" that requires you to drink alcohol sounds fun.....you might be wrong. It really wasn't as fun as it sounds.  You're drinking the wine in such small amounts over the course of the day that it's not enough to even to catch a buzz.  At least not me.  A lightweight might....but 2 glasses just doesn't do it for me and if I'm going to drink I want to at least get some fun out of it!

 It might also be because I'm not a huge wine drinker.  I like it just fine, but its not my first choice.

Now maybe if I got to swap out the glasses of wine for shots of tequila I might like it a little more. (hmmm.....second blog post idea??)

Overall, I was glad I did it just for the sake of doing it but it didn't make any huge impressions on me both good or bad....and I lived to blog about it!

Will you give the Vogue diet a try?  If you do, come back and comment back here with your experience.  I'd love to hear it!

Wardrobe Wednesday- Fall Overalls Outfit

No, we didn’t just travel back in time.  We are indeed in October 2018 and this is a NEW Wardrobe Wednesday post!

Guys....it’s been over 3 years since my last one.  Three YEARS!  I was thinking it was 2 years and even that is still a long time...but damn!  I looked it up and the last post was July 23. 2014. 

I quit doing it for several reasons.  In general blogging took a back seat while I was going through some personal stuff that following year. Then, even when I was ready to start blogging again I put immense pressure on myself that kept me from getting back on the horse so to speak. And lastly........I totally got fat..... AGAIN.  Ugh!

The bulk of my WW posts were done during one of the thinnest points in my life, so I had enough confidence to do them (not saying I was super confident, but it was enough).  But with each pound and chin I gained I just didn’t feel comfortable doing it anymore.  I’m still faaaaaaaar from my goal and feeling chubby even today.  I look at these pictures and still pick apart the details and lumps, but I decided to go ahead and do it anyway.  Maybe it will help me...who knows?

Also, to alleviate some of the pressure I put on myself, I’m not going to necessarily make it a weekly thing like it was before.  Sometimes it gets to be too much, so I will just be posting them as I am able to and not stress myself out over taking a picture every week while the light is good, my hair isn’t too flat yet, my sisters is around to take the picture with the right angles, and before I eat dinner Hahahaha.   I’m just going to roll with it and see how it goes.

Now onto the clothes.....

Thermal Shirt: Walmart

Overalls: Walmart

Shoes: Converse

I’ve seriously gotten sooooo many compliments on these overalls and people are always shocked when I tell them they came from Wally World.  They are from 2 seasons ago and I got them for $12.  I cut the knees and distressed them myself because I felt like the needed a little something to break up all the denim. I haven’t noticed if they have them in stock this year or not, but basically the lesson here is don’t completely dismiss Walmart as a clothing option.  You can find some good stuff!

The yellow thermal is currently in stores from their Time & Tru line.  I got it for $7.96 and LOVE it!!!  It’s super comfy and basic enough that it will be perfect for mixing and matching with a ton of outfits all season long.

Overall this outfit was super comfy and casual but I still looked relatively put together....which is my favorite outfit formula!

Thanks for reading my dive back into Wardrobe Wednesday!

Tuna Pasta Salad

I made this tuna pasta salad last night for 2 reasons:

1. It’s 115 outside today.... I know 🙄 

2. And I’m on a spending freeze right now.  Why? You may ask....

Welp, we’re kinda in the process of buying a house and it’s terrifying and lot of money and really overwhelming and I’m scared to talk about it and I haven’t talked about it much except for the people directly around me because I’m afraid I’ll jinx it and at any point the whole thing will fall through and all my hopes and dreams will come crashing down and I’ll slip deep into the depths of despair so Imma just lay low about it until its all over and official

That entire paragraph is written in a frantic run on sentence because that is a perfect representation of my mind right now.  Frantic and always running…….

Let’s just move on from that right now and talk about something else....like not spending money.  Yea....let’s do that.

So in the spirit of saving, The Boy and I have agreed to a series of cutbacks for the time being.  We cancelled our Playstation Vue, we’re giving up alcohol and other unnecessary drink, no K cups for the Keurig, no eating out, and Mildred (the cat) has agreed to giving up her Sheba sticks (couldn’t get her to budge on the Temptations treats but we will be rationing them out).  Just to name a few, but there’s a ton more.  Lots of little things that add up.

Because of this I am paying close attention to our grocery bill and quickly realizing how much I was over spending.  Whether it be overstocking and buying, letting produce go to waste, or not looking for the best deals possible.  I went a week and a half where I didn’t have to buy groceries at all, and this week I only spent $24 on a few fresh items.  The goal is to eat from the pantry and freezer as much possible.  Not only will it save us money, but we also won’t have to move as much (stop talking about it Whitney!) and can start over with pretty close to a clean slate.  With that will come some more interesting meals and the consumption of a few more carbs than normal....but it is what it is for now.

After I took inventory of everything we had, I knew tuna pasta salad was a must.  I mentioned it to The Boy thinking he’d be all “ehhh” about it and he said “Oh yea! That sounds good!” And he chose it for dinner the next night.  Considering it’s the epitome of white people food, I was a little surprised at his response.  I guess all my casseroles are rubbing off on him……

Tuna Pasta Salad

1 lb. pasta (I used rotini but also like shells and bow ties)

1 ½ cups peas

1 cup small diced red onion

2 stalks celery, finely diced

(3) 5oz cans tuna in water, drained well

1 cup mayo

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1 tsp. kosher salt.

Cook pasta to al dente and let cool.  Mix all ingredients together and chill for at least an hour before serving.

More #Whitepeoplefood if that’s your thing

Sour Cream Noodle Bake 

Cabbage Patch Stew 

Sour Cream Enchilada Casserole 

Veggie Confetti Slaw

About 3 years ago I found myself in the same position I am in every June.  Cranky, swamp-assy, and hungry.  The hungry part is a year round thing.....but I digress....

Summers in Arizona are brutal. Like I HATE the summer time.  You always hear about Seasonal Depression but most of the time its in reference to cold and gloomy weather.  Well, for me it's the opposite.  The same way people feel trapped from the cold, I feel trapped from the heat.  The most annoying part is everyone seems to think I should just be ok with it since I'm a native.  I can say something as simple as "It's like an oven out there!" and suddenly everyone has an opinion and their judgy eyes 😏

"Aren't you from here?"

"You're like a native right? Aren't you used to it by now?

"If it's so bad then move."

And then I look like this:

🙄

Yes, I am born and raised here.  No, I am not used to it.  I'll never get used to having a slip and slide between my boobs half the year.  I'll never get used to feeling sweat drip from the back of my neck, down my back, and into my butt crack.  And I don't think I'll ever just be "ok" with it still being 90 degrees at 3am. K?  Just let me feel my feels people!!


It's annoying......but back to being swampy assy, cranky, and most importantly HUNGRY!


Every summer I try to come up with as many cold meals as possible.  Turning on the oven is just.....

That leaves cold meals or limited stove top cooking (cuz even that can really heat up the house)  One day a couple years ago I really needed a side to go with a rotisserie chicken I bought (I'll leave the meat roasting to the grocery stores from May-August).  I went through my fridge and used literally every vegetable I had and created this slaw.  I've been obsessed with it ever since!  I make it almost weekly during the summer for the last 3 years.  

My recipe uses Jalapeno powder, but you can leave it out altogether or substitute with any other form of heat you like. My mom bought it for me at small spice shop and I really love it!  It's an easy way to get a really even heat as opposed to fresh jalapeno.  Since it's a powder it mixes well into the dressing for even distribution.  No biting down on chunks of jalapeno or getting a serving that has none at all.  I've seen it sold on Amazon if you want to give it a go.....I highly recommend it!

Veggie Confetti Slaw


1 small head red cabbage, shredded
2 sweet  bell  peppers, julienned
3 c. shredded carrot
8 green onion, sliced thin
2 cucumbers, seeded and julienned
1 bunch cilantro finely chopped (about 3/4c.)

Dressing:
1 c. mayo
2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2-2 tsp. jalapeno powder depending on desired heat (optional)
1 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Zest and juice of one lime

 Toss all sliced and julienned veggies together in large bowl.  Whisk together all ingredients for dressing and pour over veggies.  Toss to coat evenly.  Best if allowed to sit at least one hour before serving.