Gluten Free Fig, Apple, and Sage Stuffing

Are you having guests at your house this year who are on a gluten free diet? Are you on a gluten free diet? Have no fear! I have a grocery store customers-approved recipe at your service! I made this stuffing yesterday at work, and it was so pretty that the graphic artists took a picture of it and sent it to me. I asked the customers to tell me (honestly) if they liked it, and a majority of them loved it. I'm so glad I got to test this recipe before making it for our Thanksgiving gathering.

For many people the stuffing is a very important part of the Thanksgiving feast, and my goal was to make a traditional stuffing recipe, but to make it gluten free for my aunt, uncle, and cousin, all following gluten free diets. Of course I love it too because I am on a wheat-free diet (sort of). The only problem is that it's loaded with figs, apples, and onions, all things I try to avoid on my low FODMAPs diet. Oh well, Thanksgiving will have to be a day of thanks, and a bit of suffering for me :)

This recipe was adapted from a recipe I found in Clean Eating Magazine. Enjoy!

Fig, Apple & Sage Stuffing

Prep time: 25 minutes • Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

· 2 loaves Gluten Free whole grain bread (brand of your choice), chopped into 1/2-inch cubes

· 1 T olive oil

· 2 to 3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

· 3 to 4 celery ribs, finely chopped

· 1 large white onion, finely chopped

· 1 t dried thyme

· 1 t chili powder

- 1 t rosemary

· 2 t sea salt

· Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

· 10 to 12 unsweetened dried figs, chopped

· 2 gala apples (or Macintosh), cored and chopped

· 3-4 cup low-sodium chicken broth, plus additional as needed

· 2 T chopped fresh sage

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Divide bread among 2 rimmed baking sheets and arrange in a single layer; transfer to oven and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring once, until lightly toasted.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat oil on medium-high. Add carrots, celery and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir thyme, rosemary, chile powder, salt and pepper. Add figs and apples and stir well to combine. Remove from heat, add bread and stir to combine. Stir in broth. Stuffing should be uniformly moist but not wet. Stir in sage.

3. Coat a large baking dish with olive oil cooking spray and add stuffing. Drizzle with an additional 1 to 1 ½ cups broth (you want the consistency to be moist, but not wet). Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake until the top is lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.

QUESTION: What's your favorite part of the traditional Thanksgiving meal? For me it's stuffing, I won't lie. I also love turkey with cranberry sauce on top.