Granny's cornbread dressing recipe

cornbread dressing

Well here it is the end of December so getting another recipe posted to complete my goal this year of posting each month. For December, I'm posting my grandmother's cornbread dressing recipe plus a few extra ways to make, serve it not just at Thanksgiving or Christmas.  This is one of our favorite things around the holidays.  It's a must have for Thanksgiving and if one of my daughters don't make it home then I have to make it for Christmas as well. As with all my recipes, I've added additional vegetables to the already chopped onions and celery.  I add chopped sweet peppers, minced garlic, shredded carrots, eggplant and even broccoli. It's also good with fresh herbs like sage and parsley. When cooked chicken or turkey is added it makes a great casserole for dinner anytime. This year for Christmas I added 4 chicken breasts which I cooked then shredded to the dressing mixture of cornbread, vegetables and seasonings then baked for 45 minutes and served with gravy, mashed potatoes and fresh cranberry relish.  (My cranberry relish recipe is on an earlier post, Crazy for Cranberries). My family's absolutely favorite thing is to mix the leftovers together of 2 parts dressing, 1 part mashed potatoes, plus chopped chicken or turkey and a little gravy then form into patties and fry in butter like crab cakes.  We call these Thanksgiving patties and are served with either gravy or cranberry relish.  I have to make sure I make enough dressing in order to have leftovers for patties since they are a must have at my house. I always make a double batch of cornbread (I use 4 packages of Martha White cornbread mix, NOT Jiffy because it has added sugar and I don't want my dressing sweet.) 2 days before I make the dressing to let the cornbread dry out some. Leftover dressing can also be frozen to make patties later or is great in hash with scrambled eggs and fried potatoes. Several years ago we had a severe ice storm and lost power for almost a week.  We have a gas stove so I cooked the whole time to keep the house warm and used items in the freezer before they thawed out and ruined.  I had dressing from Thanksgiving and was throwing different vegetables together to make hash so added that as well.  We loved it so much I always add a bag to the freezer after Thanksgiving for future hash.


 Here's the recipe:

2 days before, make double batch of cornbread, I use 4 packages of Martha White yellow cornbread mix

dressing with chicken added

1 c chopped celery, 5 stalks
3 onions, chopped, can add green onions as well
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c chopped sweet peppers
1/2 c chopped eggplant
1/2 c shredded carrots
1/2 c chopped broccoli
3 T butter
cornbread crumbs
2 to 3 pieces white bread, crumbled
2 to 3 eggs, beaten
1/2 to 1 c turkey or chicken broth
1/2 to 1 t sage, fresh or dried, I like a combination
1/2 to 1 t poultry seasoning
1/2 to 1 t chicken seasoning
1 t parsley, fresh or dried
1 t each of seasoned salt and pepper
can also add fresh or dried rosemary and thyme

Cook veggies in butter until tender (this can be done a day ahead).  In large bowl combine cornbread and white bread crumbs, seasonings and cooked vegetables.  I check my seasoning before adding eggs to make sure I have enough sage.  Add 2 beaten eggs and stir.  If making a dinner casserole, add chopped cooked chicken and turkey.  The mixture should be moist and stick together, place in 9x11 baking dish and pack down.  Add chicken or turkey broth, 1/2 c at a time.  The vegetables add a lot of moisture so it doesn't need as much broth if full of veggies.  Bake at 400 for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with gravy or cranberry relish.  Leftovers freeze great and Thanksgiving patties are great as well.
Enjoy
Bamah

Thanksgiving patties with cranberry relish

Thanksgiving dinner