Cooking Ahead for Thanksgiving!

A few years ago, I stumbled upon a recipe in my Kraft Food & Family magazine and this recipe for Stuffing Balls has become a family favorite around the holidays. The best part is you can make them up to a month in advance.

Stuffing balls, a mixture of all your favorite side dishes on Thanksgiving.

Stuffing Balls (recipe from Kraft.com)

what you need

1 lb. ground pork

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

3/4 cup cranberry sauce

1 egg

1 cup water

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

make it

HEAT oven to 325ºF.

COOK meat in large skillet until cooked through, stirring frequently; drain. Place in large bowl; cool slightly. Stir in stuffing mix.

ADD cranberry sauce, egg and water; mix well. Shape into 16 balls; place on foil-covered baking sheet. Brush with butter.

BAKE 20 min. or until done (160ºF).

kraft kitchens tips

SIZE-WISE

Enjoy your favorite foods while keeping portion size in mind.

MAKE AHEAD

Prepare and shape stuffing balls as directed. Freeze in airtight container up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator, then bake as directed.

Variations- Saute one medium onion and celery in a bit of olive oil or butter and then add to the pork and stove top mixture, before adding the egg, whole berry cranberry sauce and chicken broth in lieu of water. This recipe double easily and makes about 40 balls if adding onions and celery to the mix.

Here they are in the freezer. I flash freeze mine for a few hours and then put them in a zip top bag or freezer safe container a few days before I need them. Then I thaw, brush with butter and bake as directed on Thanksgiving day. It can't get much easier than preparing this side dish ahead of time. Enjoy!