Holiday Stuffing

Before I never contributed to family meals and always had my parents cook dinners for me, never having a dish I could say was made by me. Recently I was inspired to contribute to holiday meals because I wanted to feel the reward of making something my family and I could enjoy. After loving stuffing during family meals, I wanted to make a recipe that would be made all on my own and that I could put work into while also being able to enjoy the outcome of eating a delicious stuffing meal. 

First I preheat the oven to 350 degrees and finely chop the onions and celery. I have never worked with onions before and cutting the onions makes me cry so much I can't see. I have to take frequent breaks and acknowledge my lack of helping my mom cook over the years has ultimately made me sensitive to the vegetable. After being almost attacked by the onion and taking frequent breaks of wiping my uncontrollable tears away, I am done with chopping the vegetables. The unpleasant stinging in my eyes from the onions is yet another reminder that I must become uncomfortable in order to be comfortable because the more I chop onions in the future the less of an effect they will have on me. 

Next I use a skillet and mix the vegetables with butter until the vegetables are softened. I place the bread cubes in a dish while the vegetables are cooking and this is when I realize the stress that also comes with cooking. With my mom scrambling around the kitchen and also using the stove while I focus on not only cooking my vegetables but preparing my bread cubes in another bowl. Once the breadcubes are in a bowl and the vegetables are softened, especially the celery which takes much longer to soften than expected, I mix them together and add broth to moisten the cubes along with salt and pepper to taste.

A lot of the ingredients are estimates which is scary for me. I don't know how much a splash of liquid is or what seasoning to taste means.  Estimating the best I can, I add everything to a serving platter, sprinkling the extra butter I have left on top and set the stuffing on the top shelf of the oven. Once the dish is done and served at dinner, I finally feel the gratitude of what it feels like to cook my own meal with some family members saying it's the best stuffing they’ve had. Even through the stress of cooking and crying while chopping the onions I am glad I did it all and continue to make stuffing for every special holiday event.