Posted By Kimberly Turner on Nov 11, 2014 in American Food Recipes, Canadian Food Recipes, Christmas, Cooking Shows, Cooking with Kimberly, Ethnic Foods, Holidays & Events, Side Dishes, Stuffing, Thanksgiving | 0 comments

Looking for a that comforting dish of Holiday Stuffing, but with a Thanksgiving Twist?

I really enjoy the taste and texture of my mother’s dressing, made with bread, celery and poultry seasoning with summer savory and gumbo file, because this is what my Mother always made for our Holiday turkeys.

So, in order for me to feel like it is really Holiday time, my usual option is for turkey bread dressing – Mom style.

Holiday Stuffing Ideas:

So, for the twist, here’s a few that I think would be fantastic too:

Rice & Fruit:

How about using a combination of white rice, wild rice and dried fruit with poultry seasoning, cayenne and herbs. This imparts a sweetness to the turkey, and the rice will carry all the delicious flavors of the seasonings and fruit, into the turkey meat.

Dried apricots, prunes, apple and mango or pineapple will re-hydrate inside the turkey, and plump up, and so will the rice. What a great accompaniment for your turkey dinner.

How about trying to use haskap berries for your poultry stuffing? Try this recipe for How to Cook Haskapa Rice Stuffing for Poultry:

You could go with just the vegetables & the rice. Here’s How to Cook Vegetable Rice Stuffing for Poultry:

Change up the white rice to brown rice with some exciting twists with this recipe for How to Cook Lemon Ginger Brown Rice Stuffing for Poultry:

Sausage & Rye:

How about stuffing your bird with crumbled sausage with cubed, dry, rye bread for your turkey dressing, together with summer savory, a touch of dill and gumbo file.

This dressing would be hearty, flavor filled and complimentary to your Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys. Unusual and wonderfully delicious, it is certainly worth a try to give you a change from the ordinary.

Maybe instead of sausage, use ground beef. Try this recipe for How to Cook Rice & Ground Beef Stuffing:

You could omit the meat altogether, stick with the rye & add some other tasty ingredients like in this recipe for How to Cook Rye Poultry Stuffing with Mushrooms, Lemon & Dill:

Chestnuts & Sage:

Another twist to consider would be a brown bread, chopped turkey liver and roasted chestnut dressing with sage leaves, onion and celery, and cayenne and black pepper.

The chestnuts add a sweetness to the liver, brown bread and sage leaves. Fresh sage adds something very special to this rich dressing to compliment the turkey meat.

You’ll need to know How to Roast Chestnuts.

Cranberries:

If you can’t get away from the idea of using the usual bread dressing, you might try adding some chopped cranberries into the dressing. You would still have the accustomed dressing, but the cranberries will add a compatible component to kick up the flavor, and make it interesting.

These simple alternative ideas give you some tasty options to change up your usual recipes, with easy-to-do options. The alternatives can easily be adapted to any poultry, game or meat.

I hope you find a great idea for a Thanksgiving Twist on the Traditional Holiday Stuffing for your delicious feast!