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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

~Lorene's Dressing~


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!

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