November is the time to start Stuffing your face!

The holidays are quickly approaching but Stuffing Month is already here! That’s right – November is National Stuffing Month. Depending on your personal experiences, “stuffing” could mean various things to different people, beginning with what you call it.  Depending on where you grew up or your family history, you might call it “filling” or “dressing”. In the Middle Ages, stuffing was known as “farce” from the Latin word “farcire”, which meant “to stuff”.  But it wasn’t until 1538 that the word stuffing first appeared in English print.

That’s what it’s called.  But what IS it, exactly?  Well, stuffing is a combination of starches such as bread crumbs, vegetables like onions and celery, and savory spices that goes inside of an animal such as a turkey before baking/roasting. Stuffing can also be served as a delicious side dish alongside a Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday meal. Some prefer stuffing that is homemade from scratch while others may enjoy the classic Stove Top brand boxed stuffing, which debuted in 1972 and has gained in popularity ever since. In fact, 60 million boxes of Stove Top are sold every Thanksgiving – that’s right 60 MILLION.

If you are feeling adventurous and want to explore different recipes for making your own stuffing this year, here are the Food Network’s “Best Thanksgiving Stuffing and Dressing Recipes” for you to mull over.

Thanksgiving Day will be hectic, so if you’re not into whipping up some stuffing from scratch, you could save yourself some time with stuffing helpers, like Pepperidge Farm Stuffing in varieties such as Cornbread, Sage and Onion and Unseasoned (add your own spices and flair!). And of course, Stove Top, with flavors including Pork, Cranberry, Chicken, Traditional Sage and more!

If you’re hosting Thanksgiving this year, even if you’re following the CDC’s recommended guidelines for smaller gatherings, you may feel daunted by the task of cooking and/or stuffing the turkey for your guests. Take some valuable tips on how to stuff your turkey and other do’s and don’ts from the turkey experts at Butterball with their How To: Stuff a Turkey video.

Gobble, Gobble!

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Photo Credit:  Brent Hofacker / Shutterstock.com