Mom's Thanksgiving Dressing.
First you will need to make a pan of Mom's Cornbread. Now if this is at Thanksgiving, and you are baking a turkey you will not need a whole chicken. You will only need to buy a package of chicken parts (such as legs and thighs..) to boil and add to the drippings from the baked turkey. Sometimes she boils the turkey parts and adds them to the dressing, but not always. It is up to you. I prefer it without them cause I find livers and all that gross and not really into finding it as a surprise in my dressing. But you could boil the neck with the chicken for flavor. If you are not baking a turkey along with this- then you will need to buy a whole chicken, cut it down and boil about half of it and bake half of it so you will have the broth from the boiled chicken and drippings from the baked chicken.
This recipe is for a small pan. We usually at least double this, if not triple it, for our large family.. this will make a 9x13 pan of dressing.
6 eggs, boiled
4 eggs, raw
1/2 chicken boiled and deboned, reserving broth
1/2 chicken baked and deboned, reserving drippings in pan
9x13 pan of cornbread
1 onion, chopped fine
3-4 celery stalks chopped fine
4T sage (must be Good fresh bottle of sage!)
1/2 stick butter
4 cups of canned chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste
While cornbread is baking put chopped celery, onion, and butter in sauce pan and cook it on high until it gets good and hot, then let it simmer until all is soft.
Preheat oven at 350
In the biggest bowl you own crumble up cooked cornbread and mix in boiled egg, all cooked chicken, cooked celery and onion, drippings from baked chicken, broth from boiled chicken, raw eggs, and sage. If it isn't pretty moist you can add additional canned chicken broth, if needed. Pour mixture into greased 9x13 pan (or larger if needed) You want to again oil the pan liberally. If it pools on the edges slightly after mixture is poured in- that is fine. It will cook off and make the edges crunchy, you just don't want it to pool so much that it boils over in your oven.
Bake for 1 hour, 20 minutes at 350, or until middle is cooked. Should be like moist cornbread consistency.
Serve while hot. I suggest making enough to have lots of leftovers because it is even better the next day!! I know it seems like a lot and kind of a hassle- but trust me it is worth it, and not at all as bad as it sounds!
