Stove Top Stuffing: 2 Ways

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Last year, Cole and I had an impromptu “Friendsgiving” after we felt the need to purchase a turkey that was well-priced (we can’t resist a good sale) and then realized there was absolutely no way we would ever be able to eat that whole thing ourselves. We invited six or seven friends over, everyone brought a dish, and we shared good food and good laughs. It was so much fun, especially since it was our first month in our first place and it was our first time getting to entertain people here. I’m super excited to do this again this year (it was even specially requested by friends that came last year, haha), but this time it’s a bit more planned so I’ll have the opportunity to go all out with decorations and most importantly, food.

I am not the number one chef in the world by any means, but I have been more creative in the kitchen the last couple of months. It started with following recipes I found on Pinterest to a T to getting a little more experimental and trying out ideas on my own. Some of those ideas worked, while others we will just go ahead and not talk about… hahaha. I’ve been watching a lot of Food Network, which makes me feel slightly more confident in the kitchen (I realize this is comparable to saying playing lots of Guitar Hero makes you a better guitar player, but let’s go with it haha!), so I decided to do a test run on a couple twists of a traditional Thanksgiving dish: stuffing.

My family has used Stove Top stuffing for as long as I can remember. It’s just so perfectly seasoned and is basically impossible to mess up! With that in mind, I thought I’d try my hand at being chefly (I’m pretty sure I just made up that word, but it totally works). I wanted to do a sweet and savory version, and I wanted to do a cheesy version. They both sounded so good in theory! Luckily, my theory actually worked out for once. Both varieties were so easy and SO delicious! My friend Ashleigh was over helping me cook up a stuffing storm, and Cole just happened to come home as soon as it was all finished, so we all spent the afternoon mowing down.

Both of these stuffing dishes are PERFECT for Thanksgiving (or Friendsgiving, where I’ll be serving them!), because they are so quick to whip up and both versions are super affordable, so you can feed a lot of people without spending a lot of money. I grabbed both my boxes of Stove Top at Walmart for under $2 each, and had the other needed ingredients at home already since they are things I usually purchase whenever I do my grocery shopping. If you need more recipe inspirations, check out the Cooking Up Good website. It has recipes, sweepstakes, loyalty programs, coupons and more! Also.. check out the desserts on there. They look SO. GOOD. I may just have to try my hand at a couple of those for Friendsgiving, too!

You will need:

1 box Stove Top Turkey Stuffing
1.5 cups water
2 tbsp butter or margarine
2 apples, thinly sliced (I used Gala apples for sweetness)
Handful of walnuts, crushed
(serves 4)

Directions:

Cook stuffing as per directions on box
While stuffing is cooking, boil sliced apples until soft- approx 5-8 minutes
Chop apples into smaller, bite sized pieces and add to cooked stuffing
Sprinkle crushed walnuts over stuffing and serve!

 

For this recipe, I thought I was an absolute genius coming up with it.. until I realized something SO similar is on the Kraft website already. Good job, me, haha. Either way, these are a bit different from their ideas and taste AMAZING- but check out Kraft’s version as well!

You will need:

1 box Stove Top Turkey Stuffing
1.5 cups water
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Kraft Shredded Cheese (I used the Four Cheese Italiano mix)
(serves 4)

Directions:

Cook stuffing as per directions on box
While stuffing is cooking, boil corn until thawed and ready to eat, and sauté onions in 1 tbsp of olive oil
Once onions are softened, mix beaten egg, onions, corn and cheese into the stuffing
Mix well and divide stuffing into lightly greased muffin tins
Bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese has fully melted, then serve!

Enjoy! What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?