Southern Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing

This super easy to make dressing is a wonderful change from the ordinary bread stuffing....  a perfect side.... need to bring something to a Thanksgiving dinner.. well search no more.. you have found the perfect thing to bring.. for sure!

TIPS

You can use any cornbread you like.... BUT I highly recommend mine... it's a sweet cornbread.. easy to make.. makes quite a bit and the sweetness goes so well with the sausage....

My cornbread recipe makes a 9 x13 size... so .. if you want to make only a medium size casserole dish... use about 3/4 of it... I make it the night before and serve it with chili.. and use the leftovers for the stuffing....

My ingredient list is for 3/4 of my cornbread... and I take into account that my cornbread is moist.... if you chose to make a grainier cornbread or dryer one.. you will need to adjust the amount of chicken or turkey stock you use..

When adding the stock... add 1 cup first and stir.. then add more as you stir.. you want it moist but not sopping with puddles of stock.. let the stock become absorbed before adding more... if by chance you add too much and you have a little pool of stock in your bowl... spoon off the excess... you should be okay... if you added way too much.. spoon off what you can and add a bit more cornbread (that's another plus to using my cornbread recipe.. you have extra cornbread to add in..)

If you don't have extra cornbread to add in ... you can add some white bread .. cut the crusts off... and cut or tear the bread into small pieces... you can even toast it and then cut it up and add it in...

Another good rescue is adding ground Ritz crackers.. the sweetness will add a nice flavor... just pop a handful into your mini chopper and add the crumbs in...

Keep in mind the onion and celery ingredient quantities are not set in stone... use a bit more if you like or a bit less...

I use real butter.. it's a holiday... not the time to cut corners... the butter flavor really adds to the stuffing.

I use a breakfast sausage.. nothing elaborate... get the kind in a tube and cook it thoroughly.. breaking it into crumbles as it cooks. 

And lastly.. this can be assembled ahead... and baked ahead (if you're bringing it somewhere)... so it's a great stress-free addition to your meal.

Recipe:  Southern Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing

All you need:

3/4 of a 9 x13 pan of my Sweet Cornbread *See Below

1 medium to large onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely diced

4 tablespoons butter

1 tube breakfast sausage, cooked, drained, crumbled

1 1/2 - 2 cups chicken or turkey stock or broth

1-2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

All you have to do:

Make the cornbread at least one day in advance... if for some reason you didn't do it in advance and still want to make it... bake the cornbread... allow to cool... crumble 3/4 of it onto a baking sheet and let it dry out a bit in a 300 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes... then allow to cool again.

Using your hands, crumble the cornbread into a large bowl. Add the poultry seasoning and mix well.

In a medium skillet, melt the butter and sauté the onions and celery until the onions are a little soft about 5 minutes.  Then dump the entire skillet contents, including the butter, into the bowl with the crumbled cornbread.  Add the crumbled cooked sausage and mix well. 

Add the stock a little at a time.. stirring well after each addition... until the mixture is very moist.

Spray a casserole dish with butter flavored cooking spray and dump the mixture into it.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until it hot and the top is slightly browned.

Now for the Cornbread Recipe:
 

This easy Sweet Cornbread recipe is light and airy … but not too light and airy…. moist… but not too moist…and it is sweet… but not too sweet… So if you are the Goldilocks of cornbreads.. and you like light and airy, moist and sweet cornbread… this recipe is for you… Oh and did I mention it’s easy?... oh I did… well.. you won’t believe just how easy… read on..

Here’s the easy part.. it uses a cake mix and two Jiffy Corn Muffin mixes… yep.. it’s that easy… just a little tweak of the other ingredients and you have a wonderfully Sweet Cornbread.



TIPS

First let’s talk about the size.. this makes a 9 x 13 pan of cornbread….about double the size of most cornbreads… notta a problem.. for sure… it will disappear.. trust me.

Many recipes use a yellow cake mix… I decided to use a Butter Recipe cake mix.. you certainly can use a yellow cake mix.. keep in mind my ingredients in the list are based on the Butter Recipe cake mix… so you would use the vegetable oil quantity listed on the yellow cake mix box.

I use milk… fat free (skim milk) instead of the water in the recipe… my Butter Recipe cake mix box lists 2/3 of a cup water and each of the Jiffy Corn Muffin mixes list 1/3 of a cup milk… but that is really too much liquid altogether… so.. I recommend if you substitute a yellow cake mix… still use the 1 cup of milk… and use the fat free milk because it has a consistency closer to water than the other milks.

I found it mixes best if you mix the Butter Recipe Cake mix and the soften butter and eggs first… using a hand mix on low… add the milk.. beat with the hand mixer…. Then add the Jiffy Cornbread mixes and mix with a spoon by hand.. if you just add everything as some other recipes tell you… you end up with small (and some large) butter clumps… which are a pain to disperse… and you end up over mixing the cornbread mix.

Baking times vary… I used 9 x 13 baking dish… I baked it 30 minutes… then tested it.. the toothpick came out clean but the center jiggled too much… gave it another 6 minutes.. it only jiggled a little… took it out.. the center pieces could have used a few more minutes…. with that said… 40 minutes should be about right…. Depending on your oven. You want a toothpick coming out clean and no jiggle in the center…

If the top starts to brown too much (it shouldn’t)… just lay a piece of foil on top.. just lay it loosely… and you should be fine.

Have to bring something to a BBQ or a church supper… maybe a food day at work…. volunteer to bring cornbread.. and make this… be sure to bring the link to this recipe.. because you WILL be asked for the recipe!

Recipe: Sweet Cornbread

All you need:

1 (18.25 oz) Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Golden cake mix
1 stick ( ½ cup) butter, softened
5 eggs
1 cup Fat Free Milk
2 boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

All you need to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with butter flavored cooking spray or grease with shortening.

In a very large bowl, mix the cake mix eggs and butter. Using a hand mixer, mix for about 30 seconds or until well distributed. Add the milk and continue mixing for about 4 minutes at medium speed.

Add the Jiffy Corn Muffin mixes and mix with a spoon by hand until blended.
Pour batter into the prepared baking dish.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean AND the center does not jiggle.

Cool for 10 minutes… serve warm or at room temperature.