Chicken and Dressing, A Southern Holiday Favorite

This is a favorite of a lot of Southern families during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. This recipe has been passed down through my family for years probably, I however, did change it up a little bit. I have 2 toddlers, and this takes about an hour or a little more to prepare everything, because of that I changed it a little bit. So, this is how I do it in my home, not how my grandmothers and my own mom make it.  To prepare you in advance, you will end up with a butt load of dishes to do as you prepare this. I suggest washing as you go, if not….it’s a nightmare. 

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes Jiffy cornbread ( will make 13×9 pan, mix and cook according to directions)
• 8 slices of bread (crumbled)
• 5 eggs (beaten)
• 1 can Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 can Cream of Celery
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom (or Chicken and Mushroom)
• 32 oz Chicken Broth
• 3 3/4 t poultry seasoning
• 1 1/2 t sage
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1 1/4 C chopped celery
• 1 1/4 C chopped onion
• 1 1/3 stick butter

While your cornbread is cooking, combine soups with 2 cups of chicken broth. Heat, but do not bring to a boil, to combine the soups. Chop your celery and onion and cook in butter until tender.

Once your cornbread is cooked and cooled a little, add it to a HUGE pot and crumble it well. Grab your 8 slices of bread and crumble/tear those really well. Add your seasonings. I prefer to add more of the poultry seasoning and sage, but you can do the seasonings to suit you and your family’s taste. Mix well. Add your cooked chopped celery and onion. Add your soups and mix well.  You should have 2 cups of Chicken broth remaining, use this if there is any needed liquid. You do not want the mixture to be soupy, but you don’t want it to thick either. I usually end up adding the remaining 2 cups to mine, but sometimes I don’t need to full 2 cups, so add it slowly and mix stopping to check the consistency as you go. Add your 5 beaten eggs, mix well. ** This will need to cook at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes, every oven is different, so yours might need to cook shorter or longer. Be sure to change the oven temp after the cornbread is done.**

If you plan on cooking right away, this will make enough for 2 13×9 pans. Before cooking you would need to add 2 cans of Tyson white chunk chicken breast, if you were making both 13×9 pans, add 2 cans to each pan. Drain the can and use a spoon or fork to break up the chunks, add to the dressing and mix it in. I didn’t plan on cooking any until the holidays, so I made this to freeze. I ended up having just a little bit that really wasn’t enough to put in a container to freeze, so I cooked it. End result, I got one small circular pan of chicken and dressing and 3 -32 ounce containers to freeze.

You can leave the chicken out if you like, and use sausage instead. Or you could do chicken and sausage, I’ve even known people who use oysters. Sounds gross, but I hear it’s good. I’m not a seafood person, so I will not ever try it. LOL. If you try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it 🙂 If you have any questions, PLEASE do comment or send me a message via our facebook page