drippings from 1 roasted chicken or turkey
1 1/2 loaves store brand white bread
1 (32 oz.) carton chicken broth
2 tbsp. ground or rubbed sage
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 sweet onion, medium dice
4 stalks celery, medium-fine dice
salt, to taste

The night prior, in a very large bowl or spread on newspaper, break the white bread into 1-inch pieces to dry.

The day of, put the drippings in a sauce pan, all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, when tasted, the broth should have a pronounced sage flavor, adjust salt to taste, boil until onion and celery are translucent.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place bread into a large bowl and first add the celery and onion pieces from the broth to the bread, then slowly add the broth to the bread mixture taking time to stir between additions, continue adding just until there is no dry/white bread remaining, add no more broth.

Move the bread/broth mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish and smooth out the top. Place the casserole onto a middle oven rack at 350°F for 45 minutes, check the dressing using a butter knife every 10 minutes until the knife is nearly clean when removed. It may be necessary to cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning the top. It normally takes about 1 hour total baking time.

Submitted by: Chuck Nute