Southern Cornbread Dressing

March 1, 2014January 13, 2015 monplate healthy eating, healthy food recipes, healthy meals

Ingredients

Buttermilk Cornbread:
2 c. yellow cornmeal
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. buttermilk
2 T. butter

Dressing:
1/2 c. butter
5 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 bunches green onions, chopped (both white and green parts)
8 c. (16 oz.) herb-seasoned stuffing mix (such as Mrs. Cubbison’s classic seasoned dressing)
5 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions

Prepare the Buttermilk Cornbread:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a small bowl, stir together buttermilk and eggs. Add buttermilk and egg mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.

Melt butter in a 9″ round cake pan in the preheated oven. Stir melted butter into the cornbread batter until just combined. Pour batter into the hot cake pan.

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden. Cool completely and crumble.

Prepare the Dressing:

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery, onion, and green onion; saute until tender.

Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in crumbled cornbread, sauteed vegetables, stuffing mix, chicken broth, salt, and pepper until well blended.

Spoon dressing into a lightly greased 13×9″ baking dish and a 9×9″ baking dish (it’ll take both pans to hold all the dressing).

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 1 hour for the 13×9″ pan and 45-50 minutes for the 9×9″ pan.

NOTES:
*This recipe makes a large batch perfect for serving a Thanksgiving crowd. You could easily make half a batch for a smaller group.
*You could make a ‘full cornbread’ version by using cornbread stuffing mix instead of herb-seasoned stuffing mix.
*Using the combination of both homemade cornbread and prepared stuffing mix makes for a fabulous texture. We’ve compared the texture to dressings made with all homemade cornbread and made with all prepared stuffing mix … we love the combination best.