Ingredients:
4 slices potato bread, toasted and cubed
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
5 cups leftover mashed potatoes (I used leftovers from this)
2 tablespoons parsley
3 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray with cooking spray or grease a 8×8 inch baking dish. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the celery and onion and saute until the onion is translucent (do not brown!), about 5 minutes. Add the bread cubes and saute until they are warmed through.
Add the mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients until all ingredients are evenly distributed*. Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 minutes or until piping hot and the top is lightly browned.
*Some mashed potatoes are moister than others. If your mixture looks dry, add some chicken or turkey stock to moisten and thin the mixture out a bit.
My thoughts:
I came across a mention of potato filling in an article about Thanksgiving traditions and regional foods people miss when they move from their hometown. We all know how fond I am of sauerkraut at Thanksgiving so any mention of a quirky regional dish catches my attention. Apparently this is often served at Thanksgiving and sometimes even stuffs the turkey (!) but I thought it was a great way to use up the leftover mashed potatoes that, let’s face it, often get dumped. You probably still have some turkey to serve with this but if not, ham or chicken would be tasty too. It is like a crazy homey hybrid of stuffing and mashed potatoes. I took care not to overcook the celery so it provided a good crunch, breaking up the creaminess of the potatoes. It might be a bit homely looking but it is so good and this is coming from a truly rare casserole eater.
My grandma was borne and raised most of her youth in Pennsylvania Dutch country. She had some amazing recipes that were passed down from her Mother and Grandmother. I look forward to trying this one. I know Granny would love it.
Enjoy!
I added four slices of crumbled slab bacon and wowed my family including the grand babies!
I used to make this every Thanksgiving when I cooked for a crowd. Rarely had any leftovers.
I never used leftover mashed potatoes, though, because I used to make breakfast potato pancakes using the same ingredients except the bread if I had leftover mashed potatoes and then would fry them. I did have leftover filling once and did the same thing.
My late mother in law, a Mohawk Indian from Ohsweken, Ontario used a recipe similar to this to stuff her turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Never having had it before, I looked at it kind of stink eyed, but, boy was it good!!
Thanks for sharing your story, how interesting! It is a bit dodgy looking but tasty!
I am 4th Generation to make this recipe. My GGrandmother was Pennsylvania Dutch, she passed it down to my grandmother, then to my mother, and now me. I don't saute the celery and I make the mashed potatoes fresh for this. My family will only eat this stuffing or as my grandmother called it filling. Delicious
Claire
This was a tradition in our family and I never knew whether it was my mother's or father's recipe. We added almost a whole small container of sage in it too. I have never seen this recipe anywhere before. So happy it has been shared for the rest of the world, moist, tasty and delicious!
Sage sounds like excellent addition!