Stuffing

On my quest to find simplicity and health, I've determined that our "holiday" meals don't need to be quite as extravagant as they have been in the past.  I can't totally downsize because Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners are my husband's favorite meals EVER.  I'm not willing to fight that fight and lose!  

In my pre-planning I have tried to figure out what can be done ahead of time, what doesn't need to be done and what can be done differently.  Today I'd like to share what I do for stuffing.

Growing up, I hated stuffing.  It was soggy and mushy and tasteless and didn't feel good in my mouth.  But I ate it because Grandma made it.  I continued hating stuffing until Stove Top entered my life.  And I'll say this here and now - no matter how healthy I get, or how drastically I change my eating habits I WILL NEVER GIVE UP MY STOVE TOP STUFFING.  I know it's bad for me, but I love it.  

I don't make it as directed on the box though.  Well, sort of.  I do make it as directed (I use 2 packets worth), but then I do this....

chop one medium to large sweet onion and cook until it's nice and soft, almost translucent.  I add finely diced celery (about 3 stalks worth) and some grated carrots (about 2 big ones or 2 handfuls of baby carrots).  I cook them with the onions until they too are nice and soft.  Then I add 3 or 4 leaves worth of diced kale (I cut it super small), and cook just until wilted.  I add all these tasty veggies to the prepared stuffing.  It "takes it up a notch", or several.  It's almost like I made it from scratch!

I like to think that by adding all these healthy things, I'm negating the 'bad' in the Stove Top.  I'm not, really, but it makes me feel better.  And it tastes great.  Now I love stuffing with Thanksgiving dinner!