“When I was growing up, Thanksgiving meant dealing with horrific traffic from Long Island to Staten Island, getting together with family, watching Mighty Joe Young, the Dallas Cowboys and enjoying the best stuffing on earth compliments of my cousin’s grandfather AKA “Popo” Mikey. Mikey was a cook in the Navy and passed this recipe on to our family. It’s not for the lighthearted—it’s practically a meal in itself. Vegetarians beware.

Ingredients

• 3 onions
• 2 cans of chicken broth
• 7 stalks cut celery
• hand full walnuts
• chicken liver small container
• 1 half pound thin bacon
• 1 Pepperidge farm ground sausage in a roll and Italian sausage
  thyme
• 2 bags croutons (stuffing mix)

Instructions

1. Mince bacon… easy to cut if frozen
2. Mince onions and celery in food processor
3. Boil liver about 5 minutes
4. Sautee bacon until fat is burned, put bacon in container.
5. Sautee onions and celery in bacon oil add chicken broth to moisten.
6. Put cooked ingredients in bowl
7. Cook minced sausage fully.  Add to container.
8. Place croutons in large bowl, add chicken broth to moisten.  When moist, add other ingredients from other bowl.  Mix together until consistency is like dry oatmeal.
9. Add walnuts and thyme.
10. Place in aluminum baking sheet and cook @ 300 degrees for 1 hour or until top is golden brown.

Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes prior to serving.

This amazing stuffing recipe was contributed by David Armano. Do you have a favorite family recipe to share in a Malt-O-Meal Facebook Family Cookbook? Visit: www.facebook.com/MaltOMealFanPage to become a fan and get all the details. Enjoy!

Today’s Topic: Breakfast!

Since this is part one, it makes the most sense to begin with breakfast. Across the globe different countries and cultures bring unique sensibilities to the table, when it comes to the staples of morning nutrition. While in Minneapolis we might be saddling up bleary-eyed to bacon strips, hash browns, a bowl of cereal & a tall glass of orange juice, our brothers and sisters halfway across the world are dreaming of a steaming bowl of “congee” and a tasty cruller.

Let’s expand our perspectives regarding this “most important meal of the day,” to open up exciting new tastes to our palette.

Breakfast In Egypt

Ful (pronounced ‘fool’) is a hearty yet very inexpensive breakfast eaten with plenty of flatbread. This traditional Egyptian breakfast is made into a soup primarily from fava beans and various spices. For many it is the largest meal until supper & is often referred to as “a rock in the stomach” for its ability to have you stuffed after consumption!

Fast Food Breakfast In China

Similar to a crepe, Jian Bing is made on a hot round ceramic surface. It’s intense just to watch somebody prepare it in front of you. Jian Bing starts with a thin batter and is filled with egg, cilantro, a light fried flour crisp, chili & hoisin sauce & all in under 2 minutes. If you’re on the run in downtown Beijing, be reassured that you can still make the 8:15 even if you stop by to pick up a Jian Bing.

Breakfast in South India

Idly is a round cake usually made from black lentils and rice. Its served with a vegetable based stew called Sambar for dipping. This would be a great way to start off the day before taking the train in to bustling Mumbai.

Masala Dosas are another common South Indian breakfast. Similar to the Jian Bing, a Dosa is a crepe-like wrap stuffed with spicy potatoes & served with a few different curry sauces.

The next time you’re looking for more variety in your breakfast or any meal for that matter, why not see what other parts of the world have to offer. Take a meal or two to appreciate the diversity across cultural bounds and discover the various influences behind their recipes.