Southern Cornbread Dressed Up Chicken Food

CORNBREAD DRESSING MADE THE SOUTHERN OLD-FASHIONED WAY!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 F. Grease an 8 x 8 dish and set it aside.
• In a large bowl whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Make a well in the center and add beaten eggs and buttermilk.
• Gently stir dry and wet ingredients together just until combined.
• Stir in the melted butter.
• Spread batter evenly into prepared dish.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Let cool completely. Cover and let cornbread sit a couple of days before proceeding with the dressing. Or crumble the cornbread up and toast it in the oven to dry it out in order to use it the same day for dressing.
• Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x13 pan. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, crumble up the cornbread and set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt the butter.
• Add the celery, onions, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper.
• Saute until tender.
• Stir the vegetables into the cornbread.
• Stir in the prepared chicken thighs and breadcrumbs.
• Stir in enough chicken broth to make the mixture really wet and slightly soupy. (I usually need about 3 1/2 cups)
• Add poultry seasoning, sage, and black pepper.
• Taste the mixture and adjust the seasonings if needed. It should taste exactly how you prefer your dressing to taste.
• Once satisfied with the taste, add eggs.
• Spread mixture evenly into prepared dish.
• Bake for 45-55 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool.
• Serve.

SOUTHERN CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Whisk the cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a large bowl and set aside. Whisk the buttermilk and eggs together in a medium bowl, then fold it into the cornmeal mixture and set aside.
• Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat. Once smoking-hot, turn off the heat, add the butter and swirl it around to coat the pan as it melts. Pour the melted butter into the cornmeal mixture and stir to combine. Pour the cornmeal mixture into the hot skillet (you will hear a sizzling sound when pouring it into the pan) and bake until the edge is golden brown and the center bounces back when pressed with a finger, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SOUTHERN CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and position a rack in the middle. Butter an 8-inch-square baking pan.
• Melt the butter in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish in three 15-second intervals on high or in a small pan on the stove. Set it aside to cool.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and the eggs. Add the melted butter. Add the flour-cornmeal mixture and stir just until combined. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake until the cornbread just begins to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 23 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

SOUTHERN CORNBREAD DRESSED-UP CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375. Cook the bacon in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 7 minutes; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Add the onions to the pan with 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper; cook over low heat until tender, about 5 minutes, scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Set the skillet aside.
• Combine the cornbread, spinach, cheese,
• pecans, garlic, 1 tablespoon of the mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and the nutmeg in a medium bowl. Crumble in the bacon and toss gently. Stuff the mixture between the skin and flesh of each chicken half, making sure to cover the breast and thigh.
• Place the chicken halves skin-side up on top of the onions in the skillet. Combine the butter
• and honey in a bowl and brush all over the chicken; season with salt. Roast in the oven until a
• thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 165, about 50 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board; let rest for 10 minutes. Whisk the remaining 1 tablespoon mustard into the onion mixture and set aside. Carve each chicken half and serve on a platter with the onions.

SOUTHERN CORNBREAD DRESSING

Steps:

• Place the chicken breast halves in a large saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Cook 1 hour, or until the meat is tender and easily shredded. Shred chicken and set aside. Reserve 4 to 6 cups of the remaining broth.
• Prepare an 8x8 inch pan of cornbread according to package directions. Crumble the corn bread into a large bowl. Mix in the white bread.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the margarine and stir in the onions and celery. Slowly cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.
• Stir the onions and celery into the bread mixture. Mix in the chicken, 4 cups reserved broth, cream of chicken soup, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, pepper and eggs. Blend with a potato masher until the mixture is the consistency of gelatin. Use more of the reserved broth as necessary to attain desired consistency. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until golden brown.