Bacon and Baguette Stuffing

1 In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel, but leave the bacon grease in the pan. (When the bacon has cooled, crumble it, and set it aside as the topping for this stuffing.)
2 Add the chopped carrots, celery, onions and garlic to the bacon grease. Add the rosemary and sage, as well, and cook until the vegetables have softened and soaked in all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
3 When softened, remove the vegetables from the heat, and set aside to cool.
4 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a large baking dish, and set aside.
5 Place the bite-sized pieces of the baguette in a large bowl. Scoop the cooled vegetable mixture into the bread, and measure in the parmesan, as well as the parsley.
6 Using your hands or a large spoon, combine the ingredients.
7 Slowly pour in a cup of the stock, using your hands to mix everything together. (I'm sure you could do this with a spoon... but using your hands really helps.)
8 Massage the stock into the bread and vegetables, and slowly continue to do this until the mixture is combined. If it feels a little dry, add more stock. If it feels sticky and a little squishy, you're good to go! Go by feel -- you want the ingredients to be soft and soaking in the stock, but you don't want them to be sopping wet.
9 When the stuffing has been made, transfer to the greased baking dish. Top with the crumbled bacon bits from earlier. Cover with aluminum foil.
10 Transfer the stuffing to the preheated oven, and bake for 30 minutes.
11 Remove the cover, and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
12 When crisp on top, remove from the oven, and enjoy warm!