The One With the Turkey and Stuffing Bake

If you're impatient for Thanksgiving to get here, like I am, this could help hold you over. It's basically Thanksgiving in one dish. It's amazing. Of course, this would be good all year round, too.

Turkey and Stuffing Bake

• 1 pound ground turkey (preferably pre-seasoned with Italian seasonings)
• 2 Tbls olive oil 
• 3 Tbls flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cups water
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced medium
• 3 celery stalks, diced medium
• 1 loaf crusty white bread, cut into large cubes
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbls butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add ground turkey and cook until browned. If you used unseasoned turkey, add sage and any other spice you'd like. Add the flour and stir to coat. Add chicken broth and cook, stirring until liquid thickens, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to an 8x8 Pyrex or other baking pan.

Rinse out skillet and pat dry. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add onion and celery and cook until tender, 8 minutes. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, stir together the cream of chicken soup and water. Add that, along with the bread and cranberries, to the onion and celery mixture. Toss until combined. Stir in eggs. Spoon bread mixture over turkey mixture. Cut the butter into small pieces and distribute over the bread mixture. Bake until juices are bubbling and bread is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe is a variation of one I saw in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. It originally called for 3 1/2 cups chicken broth instead of 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and 1 can cream of chicken soup, plus 1 1/2 cups water. But I ran out of chicken broth. I think it turned out really great this way, but you can also try it the other way!

And even if you're not a big fan of cranberries, I would really suggest you incorporate them. They really add something special to the dish. It's like a full Thanksgiving dinner in every bite. Now if only it incorporated some mashed potatoes...

Linked up at Tastetastic Thursdays on A Little Nosh. Featured on Weekend Spotlight.