Part II of the Fixin's

We don't make anything spectacular or fancy for our side dishes. I pretty much make everything my mother has made since I was a child - and I'm pretty sure she made everything her mom made for her. And pretty much means, I make everything the same except for that elusive sweet potato recipe I keep looking for and the stuffing. The recipe I'm going to share below is something you'd find Sandy Lee getting her panties in a bunch over, I'm almost embarrassed to say. Although this is NOT a Semi-Homemade recipe, but a recipe I was given from a friend many years before the fine people at Food TV even entertained the thought of giving Sandra Lee her own show.

Made with a box stuffing mix (gasp!), zucchini, onions, cream of chicken soup and other decidedly artery clogging ingredients, this is the easiest and most delicious stuffing I've ever had in my life. So delicious, in fact, that my MOM requests it every year and won't even think about making her own stuffing FROM SCRATCH that she prepared all those years prior.

TRUST ME when I urge you to try this easy stuffing the next time you serve chicken or chops. You will be amazed at the flavor of this recipe.

Easy Stuffing

1 box of chicken flavored dry stuffing mix (I use Stouffer's Stove Top)
2 medium zucchini, sliced and then quartered
1 med. vidalia onion, chopped
1 small carton of button or crimini mushrooms, either sliced or quartered
1 stick of butter + 2 TBS., room temperature
1 can of cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 sm. can of French's French Fried Onions

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Lightly grease an 8" x 8" Pyrex baking dish (I had to use a 9" x 13" metal baking pan on Thanksgiving because someone had already filled my glass 8" x 8" with the buffalo chicken dip by mistake *oops* - but if it's all you've got, cut the baking time down to 20-25 minutes) and set aside.

In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, melt the 2 TBS. of butter and then add the quartered zucchini and onions. Saute for about 5-7 minutes until the onions are beginning to brown. Add the mushrooms and saute another 5-10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the cream of chicken soup and sour cream, then add the dry stuffing mix and the butter, mix well. Once vegetables are lightly browned, dump them in with the stuffing mixture and stir well.

Transfer to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the french fried onions over top. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes or until the french fried onions are goldeny brown.

The rest of our sides are pretty much the same as everyone else has - the staples, if you will. Smashed potatoes, corn, brussels sprouts, green beans, corn bread, rolls, waldorf salad, cole slaw and cranberry sauce (not the canned jelly kind - ewww). Dessert is an apple pie and Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Pumpkin cake. Which I will share in the next post. And then? I'd like to forget about Thanksgiving and start thinking about Christmas presents.. ugh. hahaa!