Cooking with Rod

By Rod Cohenour

There's an old saying that necessity is the mother of invention. This recipe is a perfect example of just that. When we discovered I had forgotten to buy the oranges we typically use in our dishes at Thanksgiving, my creative spouse decided to use pineapple in this dish. The result was ..

WOW! This is one version everyone who loves Dressing will enjoy. We actually agreed it was the BEST dressing we'd ever served.

Bon appetit~!

Ingredients:

• 3 pkgs. Stovetop Everyday Stuffing Mix (with dried chicken included) See Note below.
• 1/2 LARGE onion (about 1 cup)
• 1 Bell Pepper (red, yellow, orange, or green), diced small
• 5 or 6 stalks celery, with leaves. Remove strings, cut broad ends lengthwise to permit a small dice
• 1 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 1 can (14.5 oz) pineapple chunks including juice
• Nonfat Chicken Broth (32 oz)
• 1-2 tsp. Dried Cinnamon
• 1-2 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1 cup butter, cut into ½ to 1 tsp size and dotted on top of mixture, fold in
• NOTE: Checked the boxes remaining in our pantry (Stovetop Stuffing Mix for Chicken) and the can plus box equalled 24 oz. total

Instructions:

1. Prepare two (2) 11” x 9” oven-proof casserole dishes. Butter thoroughly to facilitate removal of dressing.

2. Use a large bowl to prep dressing ingredients.

3. Gently fold all ingredients for dressing so there is an even mix throughout. Add broth in small increments so that moisture level is to your preference. Remember, the more moist a mix going in means a more compact and moist end result. We prefer our dressing a bit more like a hot bread with a drier texture. (If you need to adjust liquid for a more compact, moist dressing, add more broth or even water.)

4. Bake at 325° for one hour. To prevent too much browning on top or bottom, you can switch pan locations from bottom to top shelf in the oven halfway through.

5. Serve warm.