For me, the toughest thing to give up at Thanksgiving and Christmas was the delicious stuffing.  Well, after several attempts (with varying versions of substitutes) I managed to perfect a brown rice stuffing recipe and I'd like to share it with you.  It's a great alternative to the traditional "bread" based stuffing and it's also very tasty!

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups uncooked brown rice 2 cups natural apple juice 1 ½ cups water 2 tsp olive oil 1 crisp harvest apple (must be crisp!) ½ cup diced onion ½ cup chopped fine, Brussels sprouts 4 cloves minced garlic

1 peeled and chopped fine carrot 1 cup diced celery 1/3 cup oat bran or wheat bran ½ cup dried cranberries 1/3 cup slivered, raw almonds ½ tsp savory ½ tsp sage ½ tsp thyme Freshly ground black pepper

Preparations:

Make rice according to the package directions.  Use the combination of 2 cups natural apple juice and 1½ cups of water (I use turkey or chicken broth for more flavour) for the cooking liquid.

Place olive oil in a large skillet and heat over medium heat.  Cook all chopped fruits and veggies until they are crisp, not soggy.

Add cooked brown rice, bran, cranberries, almonds, poultry seasoning, pepper, and thyme. Mix well, place in a casserole dish and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour.  During the baking, when I baste the turkey, I add some of the drippings to the stuffing mix.