Trader Joe's Gluten Free Boxed Stuffing (but make it fancy)

Delightfully similar to the stuffing that takes me 3x as long!

Not long ago, I shared that I plan to use the Trader Joe’s GF Boxed Stuffing and asked if followers wanted to see the tastes-homemade version. And I got a resounding yes! So here we go, a way to make my favorite Thanksgiving side dish easy, delicious and most importantly, Gluten Free!

1 Box TJ GF Stuffing (you will need 6 Tablespoons of butter and 3 Cups of water for this, as per the instructions)
1 lbs. mushrooms, sliced thin (you could also just buy two boxes. I used baby portobello, but use your favorite!)
4 Celery stalks, finely chopped
1 Onion, diced small
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/4 Cup parsley, or a large handful, chopped
1 Tablespoon, or ~6 leaves of sage, chopped. (You could also do thyme or rosemary, choose your favorite herb!)
*You will not need salt/pepper/spices since the boxed mix contains a large seasoning bag.

In a large sauté pan, splash some olive oil and cook mushrooms alone until cooked down and liquid has evaporated, roughly 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

In the same pan, add more olive oil and the chopped onion, celery and garlic. Cook on medium until translucent, roughly 7 minutes. Add chopped parsley and sage (or herb of your choice) and sauté another minute. Add this mixture to the cooked mushrooms on the side.

Now follow the boxed instructions for the stuffing. I used the “Oven Casserole” instructions. After the stuffing has sat for 10 minutes, fold in the sautéed veggie mixture. Once fully incorporated, dump into a buttered casserole dish and bake according to instructions!

Some lessons learned:
First of all, I thought this came out great and I 100% plan to serve it on my Thanksgiving table. That being said:
-I think there’s a certain sogginess factor (MUCH worse with the stovetop method, skip that) given the simplistic nature of the pre-made recipe. For this reason I would do absolutely no more than 3 cups water (this is on your boxed instructions). I may even do a little under 3 cups on Thanksgiving.
-Lastly, I left the stuffing in the oven without a cover longer than 5 minutes to get it a little drier/crispier, which I recommend doing. This helped mitigate the previously mentioned sogginess.

Was this a little more effort and did it create some dirty dishes? Yes. If you want the full shortcut, just use the box alone! It’s still super tasty. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about how yummy this is going to be with a little mashed potato and gravy on my fork, and I am so happy we have a totally Gluten Free stuffing we can all enjoy! I hope you do too.