Sourdough Stuffing

I've been seeing a lot of stuffing recipes using sourdough bread.  When I found a whole wheat sourdough loaf at Sprouts I knew I had to try it.  I love our traditional stuffing recipe.  It's my favorite thing about Thanksgiving dinner.  But it has a stick of butter, two eggs, and plenty of turkey drippings in it.  So I had to change it up a bit.  I used vegetable broth and also added mushrooms, which our traditional recipe doesn't normally have.  Loved those!  I was worried it wouldn't stick together but it was perfect.  I chopped my veggies and apples pretty small but I think next time I'll leave them a big chunkier.  Especially the mushrooms.   Of course I used our traditional "Bell's Poultry Seasoning" which is what MAKES this recipe!  It's found in a little yellow box.  I know Central Market has it if you live around here.

Sourdough Stuffing

1 loaf crusty sourdough bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 11 cups)
1-2 tsp. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 ribs celery, diced
3 cups fresh mushrooms (baby bella, cremini, or white), sliced
2-4 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped (I used one Gala and one Granny Smith)
1 1/2-3 cups vegetable broth (I ended up using 1 1/2 cups but I don't like my stuffing soggy)
2 Tbsp. Bell's Poultry Seasoning
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Spread bread cubes evenly on baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes, or until bread is dried but not browned.  Transfer cooked bread cubes to a large bowl.  Sprinkle poultry seasoning over bread cubes and stir to coat.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil.  Add onion, celery, mushrooms, and apples.  Cook until vegetables and apples are soft, about 10 minutes.  Add to bread cubes and stir to combine.

Pour broth over the bread and stir to combine.  Make sure all of the bread is well coated with vegetable broth.  Season with salt, pepper, and more poultry seasoning if desired.  Stir well.

Pour stuffing into a greased baking dish with sides (I used a glass dish one size bigger than a 9x13).  Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Stir a couple times during baking.  Stuffing should be lightly browned and crisp on top.  Remove from oven and serve warm.