Caramelized Onion & Pancetta "Stuffing" Muffins

Am I too late?
Is the debate between stuffing and dressing over?
Wasn't Thanksgiving last week?

There are so many variations of stuffing during the holidays, and I can never decide which one to make.
Should I add pecans? Sausage? Cornbread? How about chicken livers? Yes!!!
See the Great Stuffing Debate here.

I know "dressing" is a Southern term, but shouldn't it define the good stuff baked outside the bird? "Stuffing" should be the stuff inside the bird. Makes sense to me.

I am a "stuffing" girl, though I always cook it outside of the bird.
No logic there.

Here's another question: why do we make stuffing only once a year?

I had a craving for stuffing this week and didn't want all the fuss, so I put the mixture into muffin tins, so we could have individual servings with soup for lunch.

Let's just pretend that these are little savory bread puddings, so we can make these on a random weeknight as a side dish to roast chicken. No holiday necessary.

You can use packaged bread cubes (like Pepperidge Farm Stuffing Mix), and boxed chicken stock makes life much easier.



Caramelized Onion & Pancetta "Stuffing" Muffins w/ Rosemary

6 tablespoons butter
3 large sweet onions, sliced
1 (4 ounce) package cubed pancetta or bacon
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness™ or Certified Organic)
1/4 cup sherry
1 (14 ounce) package Pepperidge Farm® Herb Seasoned Stuffing
2 eggs

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 15 minutes or until well browned, stirring occasionally.

Stir the pancetta or bacon, garlic, celery and rosemary in the saucepan and cook until the pancetta is well browned, stirring occasionally. Another 7 minutes or so.
The last minute, add the 1/4 cup of sherry, this will thicken the mixture and add a nice flavor (but if you don't have sherry, you could certainly skip it).



In a large bowl mix the cooked onions and bacon mixture with the dried bread cubes.

In a large measuring cup or bowl, beat the 2 eggs w/ the chicken broth.

Pour the stock over the stuffing mixture and keep turning with a spoon for 5 minutes until you have almost a cake batter consistency. Mold the stuffing with an ice cream scoop or clean hands into greased muffin tins.



Bake in a 350F oven for about 45 minutes, until tops are crunchy and golden. Let rest in muffin tin a few minutes before serving.



Enjoy!