Betty's Cornbread Dressing (Carolyn Hillje)

This is Betty Brumley’s wonderful dressing. Making dressing is an art. You have to work with it till you get it just right. This recipe is only a starting point. But, I have written it as close as I could get to how she fixes it. - Carolyn Hillje

One day before:

Boil turkey pieces or a chicken. Debone. Save the broth.

Make the cornbread.

CORNBREAD

2 cups cornmeal ¼ cup sugar

3 cups flour 3 eggs

2 T. baking powder ¼ cup oil

1 T. salt 3 cups milk

Mix together and bake 30 minutes.

To make the Dressing:

Chop 3 large onions and 12 stalks celery. Sauté in 1 stick of butter.

Add to this:

4 slices dry bread, crushed

1 T. black pepper

4 T. poultry seasoning (or to taste. Start with 1 T. and keep adding till you get it right)

2 T. sage (again, I would start easy and add to taste. You can always add more the next day when you put in the broth, but you can’t take any out. Know what I mean?)

Crumble the cornbread.

Mix all ingredients with the cornbread and put in the refrigerator over night. In a separate bowl, mix 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 2 sticks melted butter, and the chicken broth. Refrigerate overnight.

Next day:

Heat the broth mixture. Add to the cornbread mixture a little at a time. You may not need it all or you may have to add a little hot water. Like I said, it IS an art. Add 6 beaten eggs. Keep adding broth and water until the mixture is quite thin. Put in a large pan. Cook at 350 degrees for about 2 hours. Mother likes to stir it a couple of times while it is cooking. Cook it till it is set.