Sourdough Bread Stuffing

Happy Monday everyone!  I'm glad this is going to be a short week! 

I'm continuing my posts about Thanksgiving recipes.  Maybe you'll give some of these a try this year. I decided to make my own stuffing for our pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner.  I've never done this before but I was willing to try it.  I combined a few different recipes to make it and it was not too difficult and delicious.  It was definitely worth making your own rather than using Stove Top or something like that.  I made a sourdough bread stuffing with cremini mushrooms, bacon, dried cranberries, and Gruyere cheese.

Sourdough Bread Stuffing

Ingredients:
1-pound loaf sourdough bread
6 tablespoons butter
10 oz cremini mushrooms
Salt
Pepper
4 stalks celery with leaves, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
10 springs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stems
3.5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
8 oz. bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3 tbsp chopped Italian parsley leaves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 2 quart baking dish and set aside.

Cut or tear the bread into 1-inch cubes and spread it evenly on 2 baking sheets.  Toast the bread in the oven until completely dry and beginning to crisp and brown, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms and a few pinches of salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6-8 minutes.  Add celery, onion, 2 tablespoons butter, and thyme.  Once the butter has melted, cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.  Add chicken broth to skillet and stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour the chicken broth mixture, bacon, Gruyere cheese, and dried cranberries over the bread cubes and toss to combine until the bread cubes absorb the liquid.  Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish and sprinkle with parsley.  Bake in the center of the oven until heated through and the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes.  Remove the stuffing from the oven and allow to cool about 15 minutes before serving.