The stuffing I grew up on was made with chicken livers. I still incorporate chicken livers into my stuffing every year because in my books they help make the stuffing out of this world! But some of my guests don’t feel the same way, and thus over the years I’ve added a vegetarian version of my famous stuffing to my regular line-up. Why gluten-free? This may not be a popular opinion, but I hate soggy bread in my stuffing.

Traditional Version

Ingredients

• 2 cups Chicken Livers
• 3/4 cup Chopped Parsley
• 1/2 cup Onion
• 1/4 cup Shallot
• 2 tsp Garlic
• 3 tsp Dried Cranberries
• 3/4 cup grated Smoked Cheddar Cheese
• 1/2 cup Peeled and Cooked Chestnuts
• 1/2 cup Cubed Cooked Butternut Squash
• 1/2 cup Cubed Cooked Acorn Squash
• 1 pack of Uncle Ben’s Rice (Garlic or Parmesan flavour) Cooked
• 2 tsp Avocado Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. The night before, clean up the chicken livers by cutting off any fatty pieces and chop them up into smaller chunks. Let them soak in milk overnight. The next morning strain out the liquid and rinse them a few times. This helps remove some of the irony flavour from the chicken liver making the dish popular even with people who claim they typically hate liver.
2. Fry up the shallots, garlic, and onion in the avocado oil for a few minutes before adding the chicken liver. Brown the liver (5-6 minutes of cooking) before adding all the remaining ingredients except for the rice and grated cheese.
3. Pan fry on medium heat for another 3-5 minutes.
4. In a different pot or bowl combine with cooked rice and grated cheese. Stir and then you’re ready to stuff your turkey!

Vegetarian Version

Ingredients

• 1 cup Cubed Cooked Butternut Squash
• 1 cup Cubed Cooked Acorn Squash
• 3/4 cup Chopped Parsley
• 1/2 cup Onion
• 1/2 cup Shallot
• 2 tsp Garlic
• 1/4 cup Dried Cranberries
• 1/2 cup grated Smoked Cheddar Cheese (can be substituted for vegan cheese)
• 1/2 cup Peeled and Cooked Chestnuts
• 1 pack of Uncle Ben’s Rice (Garlic or Parmesan flavour) Cooked
• 2 tsp Avocado Oil
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions

1. The night before I like to oven roast the squash I’ll be using for this stuffing and cut it into cubes.
2. Fry up the shallots, garlic, and onion in the avocado oil for a few minutes before adding the squash. Continue to cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients except the grated cheese and cooked rice.
4. Pan fry on medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
5. In a different pot or bowl combine with cooked rice and grated cheese. Stir, and then you’re ready to stuff your turkey!

What do you love in your stuffing?

Recipe by: Sofia Martimianakis