This time of year things get all C-R-A-Z-Y! I have to tell myself it’s time to take a deep breath and remember that I’m Thankful for SO SO many things!!! I could bore you with a super long numbered blog post about all of my thankfulness or I could keep it short! Today I've picked "keep it short"!
I’m so Thankful for the family heritage I have of
being in the kitchen baking! Yes, I do
love me some kitchen time!!! {Matter of
fact it’s where I should be right now instead of typing a blog post}
Family recipes trickle down from many generations! Through the years I’ve acquired many new recipes
from tons of different sources! One of
my favorite sources is my Mother in Law Lorene! I had a simple little question just the other
day about one of her recipes and was wishing I had a direct line to Heaven to ask
her about it! I love to be able to cook/bake the
things my family loves and requests every year!
In my husband’s eyes, I’ve mastered some of his Mom’s recipes and it
makes my heart happy to be able to bake that special dish and bring the
memories rushing back to him!
I had a friend ask me today if I made dressing. I said with a big smile…YES I do! She asked me in front of my husband and I don’t
think she had a clue that THIS is one of those recipes that I’ve worked really
hard to get just right! When my
Mother in Law gave me her “recipe” for her dressing, she only gave me the ingredients! NO MEASUREMENTS!! She just said a little of this and a little
of that!! It’s one of Mike’s favorites!
Keeping the post short as promised, here’s that Dressing Recipe:
Lorene’s (Cornbread) Dressing
{measurements tweaked by me}
Preheat oven to 350°
In a large skillet melt butter {about 8 tablespoons} then sauté:
2 c. celery,
chopped
1 large onion, chopped
Only until onions are slightly
transparent! Pour over the following…
7-8 slices of homemade bread “chickled” up and dried out overnight {chickled is
an old family word…just go with it!} it really means cubed or torn apart in
pieces! {or you
could use dried bread cubes from the store}
8x8 pan of cornbread {recipe following}
1 box Stove Top Chicken Stuffing Mix {optional, I’ve done it both ways
and it’s equally good} If I have it I
use it!
6-7 c. chicken broth
1 tsp. salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. sage
1 T. poultry
seasoning
Taste and adjust seasonings as needed
then add:
3 eggs,
beaten
{the eggs are my addition! Lorene didn’t add eggs but I feel
like it makes it hold together!}
Mix well! You can even get your hands in there to get
it mixed up even better! Kind of fun too!!
Pour dressing into a greased pan and bake
until done! Approximately 45 min.
Cornbread
Preheat oven to 400°
½ c. corn
meal
¾ c. all purpose flour
½ c. sugar
¾ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
3 T. vegetable
oil
1 egg
½ c. milk
Mix all together and pour into a greased
8x8 pan. Bake for approximately 20 min. Pulling out of the oven when top is
browned. Let cool then “chickle” it
up! This cornbread is my recipe. I’m not sure what Lorene used but this works
for us! I suppose you could use a Jiffy
Cornbread mix if you wanted to cut corners!
Alrighty now go mix you up some
Dressing! You’ll have the best dressing
at Thanksgiving! I’ll make mine first
thing in the morning!!! You'll need to
prep a little the day before! My bread
is made and drying and as soon as I post this I’m going to go make the
cornbread for it! Good Luck and let me know if it was a winner at your FEAST! Happy Thanksgiving!
