It really is just like my grandmother used to make. This is her recipe. It took me years to pin it down, since she’s absolutely one of those women who never measures anything.
Ingredients:
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1 cup of diced celery
- 1 can cream of chicken soup (I use 98% fat free)
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup (also 98% fat free)
- 5-6 slices of white bread, torn into pieces
- 2 pans good, homemade cornbread (if you go with a mix, do NOT under any circumstances buy sweet cornbread–it DOES NOT WORK for this recipe–STEP AWAY FROM THE JIFFY MIX–find a mix that says buttermilk cornbread–and for heaven’s sake, use a cast iron skillet to cook it. You only do this once a year, so do it right.)
- 1 pinch (1/8th tsp) poultry seasoning
- good chicken stock (either roast your own chicken and boil the skin and bones, or buy a rotisserie one at the grocery, have a couple meals off of it, and boil the skin and bones of that–see my post about batch cooking for how to make your own chicken stock).
- 3 eggs
- 3/4ths cup Egg Beaters (or just use 6 whole eggs if you don’t care about fat and calories)
Crumble the cornbread into a large bowl. Add the 2 cans of soup and mix well. Add the onions and celery and the eggs/Egg Beaters. Mix well. Add the white bread. Mix well. Add enough chicken stock to make the consistency just on the soupy side of moist. Add poultry seasoning. Mix well. Please note there is NO SAGE in this recipe. It overpowers the other flavors. Don’t use it. Pour the mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish. You may freeze the dressin at this point if you’re making it ahead of time. Just be sure to thaw completely before popping it in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. The edges should be golden brown. If you like moister dressin’ (and I’m from Mississippi…there is no “g” on the end), drizzle more chicken stock over the dressin before baking. If you like it dryer, don’t add as much. Serve with turkey and giblet gravy (if you’re into giblet gravy…I’m not…the rest of my family is).