User post: Southern Apple Pecan Dressing from the Deen Brothers

Orginally posted to Fits "N" Giggles.

I was a fan of the Deen Family way before matriarch and goddess of all things delicious, Paula Deen, said she wanted to dip my baby in butter at BlogHer '09. Luckily for Paula I changed his stinky diaper while we were waiting on line to meet her or else she might have suggested I dip him in a soapy tub instead!

Several weeks ago I was lucky enough to meet Paula's charming sons, Bobby and Jamie, at an event sponsored by the Grain Foods Foundation and I was blown away with what these guys could do with a simple sandwich . So it goes without saying that when the Deen brothers send me a recipe, I'm going to trust that it's amazing and share it with you.

Seriously, this is the family responsible for making me a celebrity in the workplace, on play dates and during my brief stint as snack mom at the soccer game when I brought in Paula's famous Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes . If you haven't tried them, please do. They're easy to make and people will think you're awesome.

Anyway, back to the recipe! If you're planning your Thanksgiving menu or if your host asked you to bring a side dish, you can trust that if your recipe was developed by someone in the Deen Family you'll be the talk of the table.

Southern Apple Pecan Dressing (a.k.a. "stuffing")

Recipe created by Jamie and Bobby Deen on behalf of the Grain Foods Foundation

Servings - 8
Preheat - 350°
Prep Time - 20 min
Cooking Time - 1 hr
Total Time - 1 hr 20 min
Difficulty - Easy

Ingredients

10 cups oven-dried white bread, torn into pieces

1 sleeve crackers, crumbled (recommended: Saltines)

1/2 cup butter

3 celery stalks, roughly chopped

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 large red apples, skins left on and cut into large dice

4 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground sage

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup pecan halves, toasted and roughly chopped

Directions

In an extra large mixing bowl, toss together white bread and crackers. Set aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in celery, onion,apples, sage and poultry seasoning. Cook until onion is translucent. Pour vegetable mixture over bread mixture. Add stock, salt and pepper. Stir to coat. Add beaten eggs and mix well. Stir in Nuts. Pour mixture in a prepared 9x13 baking pan.

Bake until golden on the top and cooked through with a slight jiggle. 45-60 minutes.