Bacon and Mushroom Bread Stuffing

Before I started anything, I broke up half a loaf of sour dough bread. I say "broke up" because I was too lazy to cut the bread into cubes, so instead I cut the bread into slices a little less than half and inch thick. Then I ripped them into usable pieces. I spread the pieces out onto a cookie sheet, sprayed them with a little cooking spray and sprinkled them with garlic powder. Next I baked them at 325 for about 20min. Tadaa! Garlic croutons!

For the stuffing, first I sauteed some bacon--about 10-12 strips--until cooked through and almost crispy.

Then I took out the bacon with a slotted spoon, and **gasp** used the bacon fat to sautee a small, diced red onion, sliced mushrooms, chopped celery, and sausage (I used aidells portobello mushroom).

I added the onions first, let them clear then added the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms softened, I put in the celery. After I added the celery I added some dry white wine (I used Robert Mondavi 2006 dry riesling...because it was already opened and not completely gone yet). I'd say about half a cup to a cup.

I sauteed that for a while until the celery softened. Then I added some fresh chopped thyme and sage, sauteed for a couple minutes then added two cups of chicken broth. Once the broth was warm, I dumped in the croutons and mixed everything around until all the bread was sufficiently moist. I transfered it all into a casserole dish, layering parmesan and provolone cheese between layers of stuffing. To warm it all, I baked it for 30min at 375 (I think). :-)