Basic Bread Stuffing

This is the stuffing I made for Thanksgiving. I got it from the Joy of Cooking Cookbook. You can either use it to stuff a turkey or bake it in the oven. We didn't stuff our turkey. You can also adjust the ingredients depending on how moist you want it.

• 1 pound firm white sandwich, French, or Italian bread including crusts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, or 10 cups lightly packed bread cubes
• 4-8 Tbsp butter
• 2 c. chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (I used 2 Tbsp, dried)
• 1 tsp. dried sage
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/3 to 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 to 2 large eggs well beaten

1. Toast the bread cubes until golden brown - I put them on a 15x11 pan and broiled them for a few minutes. Turn into a large bowl.
2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Add onions and celery. Cook stirring until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and stir in, parsley, sage, thyme, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cloves.
4. Stir into the bread cubes and toss until well combined. Depending on how much butter you started with and how firm you want the stuffing, stir in chicken stock and egg, a little at a time, until the stuffing is lightly moist but not packed together.
5. To use as stuffing reheat just before adding to the bird.
6. Or moisten with additional stock and/or egg and turn into large buttered baking dish (I used a 9x13 - a 11x15 would work also). Baking in a 350 F oven until the top has formed a crust and the stuffing is heated through, 25-40 minutes.