So what is wrong with Stove-Top?

[denisem]

I use it anytime of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas. I do like it, but during the holidays I make everything from scratch, just because we like homemade better. Homemade is a lot of work, but I think I prefer it for the holidays because it reminds me of when I was a kid and now I have my own daughter, she's 2, and she had a lot of fun ripping up the bread with me like I did with my mom when I was a kid. Like I said I will use stove top stuffing and instant mashed potatoes the rest of the year without thinking twice about it.

That's so sweet and reminded me of the same. I'm 60 and remember my job was ripping up the bread for stuffing when I was a kid. DH always asks why I don't just use a bread knife and cube the bread, but it's tradition to rip it up!

I also agree with the rest of your post - while I may use "instants" during the year, I really look forward to the "real stuff" on holidays!

 

[ols386]

We made stove-top stuffing today. Sauted diced onions and celery, and just cooked them right in with the stove-top. Just gives the stuffing a little more flavor, IMO.

We thought it tasted great!

 

[Kimberlyann11]

Except none of these 'food' chemicals have had any long term health studies on humans. All a food manufacturer has to say is that a chemical is similar to another already used in food (without any proof btw) and the FDA rubber stamps it for human consumption. Heck the FDA doesn't even have a list of all the chemicals used in processed foods (there's probably about 2000 or so).

I hear that dihydrogen monoxide is a major component of stovetop stuffing.

 

[Surfinpiratee]

And those people would be wrong. Stuffing and dressing are interchangeable terms and the use of one or the other has absolutely nothing to do with where the mixture is cooked. As for me, I'm not the biggest fan of stove glop. 400 mg of sodium in a dinky little 1/2 cup's worth (prepared) is very high. Properly made stuffing from a good cook will blow the doors off of Stove Glop easily.

That's my treason for having home made is because the sodium is so high in stove top.

 

[jrmasm]

I'd rather eat Stove Top than stuffing cooked inside a bird. Blech!

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I very rarely have it, but I have always liked it better than the "real" stuff. If I would let myself, I would probably eat an entire box without sharing.

 

[tar heel]

For me, what's wrong with stove top is MSG.

Me, too.

I will use Pepperidge Farm (I add butter and sauteed celery and onions), though. The ingredients are a little better -- includes high fructose corn syrup but no coloring or msg, but still not like homemade. That's the cornbread one.

 

[Planogirl]

I made both stuffing for in the bird and Stove Top for me. People like my stuffing in the bird but I like Stove Top better. I usually avoid MSG and some other things but all bets are off on holidays.

I wonder how Stove Top would taste cooked in the bird....

 

[bettymae1121]

If you don't use stovetop, do you buy the bags of croutons and make it yourself that way or do you buy whole bread, dry it , cube it and do it that way?

Ther are different levels of homemade. No matter which method, I always add celery, onions, and often, apples and raisins.

I buy a good sour dough loaf from a local bakery, chop it up, and toast it in my oven. Some day I'd like to try and make sour dough bread from scratch but my bread making skills aren't quite up to that level yet!

As for the OP, Stove Top will do in a pinch, and if/when someone serves it I certainly don't mind. But I love my own home made stuffing best.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Really, if stove-top and instant mashed potatoes are what your family likes, serve them and be happy. I don't think you need to justify yourself to a random internet board.

My mom always made the stuffing in the bird. She cut the bread up and toasted it in the oven. yum. It came out soft and juicy - but she hated it. It didn't last at all and was the first of the leftovers to disappear. Well a few years ago she made it outside the turkey and it turned out hard. I guess you could call it "carmelized" I call it "like a bunch of little rocks". She thought it was wonderful. Everyone else, guests included, pushed it around their plates and I don't think anyone else took seconds.

I'm not sure if you are talking to me or everyone, but who in their right mind eats instant mashed potatoes, like, ever? I even make them from scratch during the work week for dinner; it isn't THAT hard.

Dinner is done, everything except the Stove Top was homemade, and we are stuffed and happy. I hope everyone here has a great Thanksgiving!

 

[Handbag Lady]

I hear that dihydrogen monoxide is a major component of stovetop stuffing.

 

[mombrontrent]

I'm not sure if you are talking to me or everyone, but who in their right mind eats instant mashed potatoes, like, ever? I even make them from scratch during the work week for dinner; it isn't THAT hard.

Dinner is done, everything except the Stove Top was homemade, and we are stuffed and happy. I hope everyone here has a great Thanksgiving!

I have been thinking about instant mashed potatoes this whole thread. I have never actually had them. What do they taste like? Do they taste close to the real thing?

Mashed potatoes are super quick and easy to make the real way it would never have crossed my mind to make instant. Do you just add water? Curious minds want to know

 

[dawnhaze]

Instant mashed potatoes are just a powder you pour into boiling water and stir. My roommate likes them. They taste OK, IMO, but I don't like the texture. It just feels off in my mouth.

I prefer potatoes in baked form.

 

[Southernmiss]

I'm not sure if you are talking to me or everyone, but who in their right mind eats instant mashed potatoes, like, ever? I even make them from scratch during the work week for dinner; it isn't THAT hard.

Dinner is done, everything except the Stove Top was homemade, and we are stuffed and happy. I hope everyone here has a great Thanksgiving!

Well I made dressing from scratch and we had Idahoan Real Potatoes instant mashed potatoes (in a red box) with our Thanksgiving dinner. Learned about them from a caterer friend and truly we can't tell the difference. Made with butter and half and half they are really good. My 95 year old grandmother talked about my good mashed potatoes. On the occasion when I've made real mashed potatoes my kids have asked for the instant next time.

We occasionally eat Stove Top, but never on a special occasion.

 

[denisem]

I'm not sure if you are talking to me or everyone, but who in their right mind eats instant mashed potatoes, like, ever? I even make them from scratch during the work week for dinner; it isn't THAT hard.

Dinner is done, everything except the Stove Top was homemade, and we are stuffed and happy. I hope everyone here has a great Thanksgiving!

That would be me, even though I make stuffing from scratch - sometimes using homemade bread!

Guess it's ok to insult instant potato eaters, but not Stove Top Stuffing eaters?

 

[Cantw8]

Stove-Top was on my table...like an easy, accommodating friend I work all day, 6 days a week..8-9 hours. I have no time to be preparing stuffing from scratch and not sure that's how I would spend time if I had it

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I have been thinking about instant mashed potatoes this whole thread. I have never actually had them. What do they taste like? Do they taste close to the real thing?

Mashed potatoes are super quick and easy to make the real way it would never have crossed my mind to make instant. Do you just add water? Curious minds want to know

Instant mashed potatoes are WAY faster. They're not bad either; but not as good as the real deal.

 

[RadioNate]

Everything is a chemical. Somtimes we give names to chemicals like salt and sugar. Sometimes chemicals are combined into more complex compounds so we call them things like flour and meat. There is nothing inherently wrong with chemicals. As for for lack of nutritional value, that is true of most flavorings for example spices and vanilla. None of that makes these ingredients bad.

Oh good grief. Eat it all you want, your body but don't play dumb and act like processed food is good for you. To only mention a few...MSG, HFCS & partially hydrogenated oils have all been proven to be unhealthy.

 

[Allison]

I have been thinking about instant mashed potatoes this whole thread. I have never actually had them. What do they taste like? Do they taste close to the real thing?

Mashed potatoes are super quick and easy to make the real way it would never have crossed my mind to make instant. Do you just add water? Curious minds want to know

No, they don't taste close to the real thing. The refrigerated mashed potatoes or the frozen potatoes you cook in the microwave and then add butter and milk to are much better alternatives.

 

[aprilgail2]

I will eat stove top stuffing for a quick weeknight meal but never on Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas etc- they are more like a "fast food" meal to me. Same with instant potatoes, ok for a fast meal but not a holiday meal!