LAURA LEE ALICE
COOKS
®
Whether it was Christmas or Thanksgiving, the smell of homemade dressing
greeted you at my parent's home. And it was always homemade, with no
exception. I've adapted the recipe to make it a little less time consuming and
it makes enough for a large gathering. BUT this recipe is easily divided into
thirds.
About the Ingredients:
• Butter: Real butter is best for this recipe, preferably unsalted.
• Celery: Diced is perfect (¼ to ½-inch)
• Onions: Like the celery, diced is the way to go. You can use sweet,
but I would not do red onions.
• Pepperidge Farm Classic Cornbread Stuffing: I like to use 2 bags of
this one and 1 of the herb seasoned-the ratio is up to you.
• Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing: If you're not a
cornbread fan, use 3 bags of this one.
• Poultry seasoning: Freshness is important for this recipe.
• Chicken stock: I make my own (recipe here) but if you are buying,
make sure to get stock, not broth.
• Eggs: Large or extra-large work best.
FYI
♥ This recipe easily accommodates your favorite additions. During the
holidays I like to add dried cranberries and toasted pecans.
♥ If you're not a fan of cornbread, it can be made from the Herb
Seasoned Stuffing Mix with white and wheat breads.
♥ You can do individual servings by baking in greased muffin tins. I love
to do this especially for a buffet.
♥ If I'm adding sausage to the recipe, I precook it to keep the dressing
from being too greasy. The sausage seasoned with sage is especially
good for this.
Ingredients
• 1½ sticks butter (¾ cup, unsalted)
• 3 cups diced celery (about 8 ribs)
• 3 cups diced onions (about 3 to 4 medium)
• 2 bags Pepperidge Farm Classic Cornbread Stuffing (24 oz total)
• 1 bag Pepperidge Farm herb seasoned classic stuffing (12 oz)
• 1 Tbsp poultry seasoning or up to ¼ cup Lite-House Poultry Herb Blend*
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 3 eggs
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 13-x-9 baking dish and
an 8-x-8 baking dish. (Use an 8-x-8 for one-third of the recipe)
Instructions
1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add celery and
onions; sauté just until soft, and set aside.
2. Mix stuffing in a large bowl with poultry seasoning; add the celery
and onions.
3. Mix eggs with the broth; add to the stuffing mixture and
blend well. Adjust salt and pepper seasoning.
4. Place the mixture in the two dishes making sure the tops are even. I
press down on the tops just a bit.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour; the smaller dish will
be ready sooner. I like mine to be golden brown on top.
*I freeze-dry or dehydrate most of the herbs that I use during the
winter months. I use fresh the rest of the time. If there is something
that I don't have, I use the Lite House herbs because they are freeze
dried and are more flavorful. They contain little bits of herbs instead
of powder. Sometimes I add an extra half teaspoon of
freeze-dried sage to this recipe.
Tips
• If the dressing seems a little dry, add a small amount of stock or
water.
• Don't worry if you don't have the exact amount of onions or celery, or
if you don't like one or the other.
Options
• Dried cranberries & chopped toasted pecans (½ to ¾ cups each)
make a great addition to the dressing.
• If you like sausage in your dressing, precook and add up to 1 cup to
the recipe.
• Sometimes I will add ½ to 1 cup of corn to the dressing. I prefer frozen
but you can use what you have.
Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Chicken Stock
Celery
Onion
Butter
Poultry Seasoning
Egg
Mix the ingredients.
Place the mixed ingredients into a
greased baking dish.
Favorite Things
from
the Kitchen
Recipes are like stories; they can change from person to person. Everyone has their idea of how a recipe should be, even
though it may have changed from the original. We will never know the true author of the original recipe, regardless of
what some may say. That's why I go back and look through the oldest cookbooks that I can find. Sometimes it's not the
recipe in the books that I find, but the tiny pieces of handwritten recipes and newspaper articles that are stuck within
the pages. That's where the real story is, finding those simple Southern recipes. -Mac