Being a "mature" homemaker, I have always made dressing to accompany chicken or turkey. I have never had a recipe. Truly, in my beginning homemaking life I did need one but found that as others gave me advice, I could concoct my own. For the past few years, I have had success making it. No brag, just fact.
The Girl asked me to teach her once she got her own kitchen and I was happy to do so. I am preparing a Thanksgiving meal in three or so weeks so I decided I would go ahead and make this dressing for that meal. I have also learned as I have matured that it's nice to do all you can ahead of time. That's why God made freezers. A friend told me that it's good to freeze dressing before final cooking and that it will freeze well for up to a year.
Keep in mind that my pictures are not exact. For instance, for the following amount of breading, I used two boxes of broth plus about two cups of water with chicken bouillon dissolved and an onion and a half. When all was said and done, I also used two cans of cream of chicken soup with one being "with herbs" that I bought by mistake. It was the perfect place to use it.
I begin with cornbread and biscuits. No, I have no recipe for those either. I just use Martha White Cornmeal (cornbread) and White Lily Flour (for biscuits). Both have Crisco cut in and buttermilk added before baking in greased pans on 455 degrees until done. For this recipe, I used a large and a small iron skillet for cornbread and two 8" cake pans of biscuits minus three used out for breakfast this morning. You can also use loaf bread if you don't have biscuits.
Here's my beginning place:
The cornbread and biscuts are made into very coarse crumbs in the food processor with the regular food processor blade. When crushed, they look like this:
I also forgot to say that butter is an ingredient. After the crumbs are chopped, chop the onion in the same messy crumb food processor for only one time cleanup of food processor. Mix, using a fork, both types of crumbs and chopped onions in a large bowl.
Boil the broth so it will be hot enough to melt the butter. While it's boiling, to the combined crumbs add pepper, a smidgen of salt (the broth is also salty), and poultry season to suit your taste. I gauge the amount by the smell. Uh huh. Then when all is mixed I gauge by the taste and add more if needed.
Add sliced butter and cream of chicken soup to the crumbs. Pour boiling broth over it a bit at a time, mixing well with a spoon. Keep adding more broth and more poultry seasoning as needed for taste and texture. Dressing should be a bit soupier if freezing.
When mixed, mine looks like this:
The amount of breading I showed in the picture plus the extras I mentioned in the beginning made this much dressing for my freezer:
Now I am ready for as much or as little as I need depending on the number of people I serve in a few weeks. And I most likely have some for another day in the future. An idea also is to add cooked chicken to the dressing, freeze, and cook for a meal during the week.
If not freezing the dressing, cook at 400 degrees until done or thaw well and cook at 400 degrees until done.
The Girl asked me to teach her once she got her own kitchen and I was happy to do so. I am preparing a Thanksgiving meal in three or so weeks so I decided I would go ahead and make this dressing for that meal. I have also learned as I have matured that it's nice to do all you can ahead of time. That's why God made freezers. A friend told me that it's good to freeze dressing before final cooking and that it will freeze well for up to a year.
Keep in mind that my pictures are not exact. For instance, for the following amount of breading, I used two boxes of broth plus about two cups of water with chicken bouillon dissolved and an onion and a half. When all was said and done, I also used two cans of cream of chicken soup with one being "with herbs" that I bought by mistake. It was the perfect place to use it.
I begin with cornbread and biscuits. No, I have no recipe for those either. I just use Martha White Cornmeal (cornbread) and White Lily Flour (for biscuits). Both have Crisco cut in and buttermilk added before baking in greased pans on 455 degrees until done. For this recipe, I used a large and a small iron skillet for cornbread and two 8" cake pans of biscuits minus three used out for breakfast this morning. You can also use loaf bread if you don't have biscuits.
Here's my beginning place:
I also forgot to say that butter is an ingredient. After the crumbs are chopped, chop the onion in the same messy crumb food processor for only one time cleanup of food processor. Mix, using a fork, both types of crumbs and chopped onions in a large bowl.
Boil the broth so it will be hot enough to melt the butter. While it's boiling, to the combined crumbs add pepper, a smidgen of salt (the broth is also salty), and poultry season to suit your taste. I gauge the amount by the smell. Uh huh. Then when all is mixed I gauge by the taste and add more if needed.
Add sliced butter and cream of chicken soup to the crumbs. Pour boiling broth over it a bit at a time, mixing well with a spoon. Keep adding more broth and more poultry seasoning as needed for taste and texture. Dressing should be a bit soupier if freezing.
When mixed, mine looks like this:
The amount of breading I showed in the picture plus the extras I mentioned in the beginning made this much dressing for my freezer:
Now I am ready for as much or as little as I need depending on the number of people I serve in a few weeks. And I most likely have some for another day in the future. An idea also is to add cooked chicken to the dressing, freeze, and cook for a meal during the week.
If not freezing the dressing, cook at 400 degrees until done or thaw well and cook at 400 degrees until done.
