Quick Chicken And Dressing

Let's talk about cornbread.

Do you like it? It's a southern staple and is a fine compliment to beans. It seems like around here everyone has their special recipe.  Some of them are passed down from generations past and include cast iron pans.  Some have spicy add-ins like jalapenos.  Some have real corn mixed in.

I've tried several recipes and I've never liked them.  And since I've never cared for it at pot luck type gatherings where it is always present, I've just decided I'm not a fan.  Especially if it's homemade.

But the boxed stuff?  Well now.  That's pretty good!  And it doesn't even have to be the real Jiffy kind.  The Aldi brand works for me just the same.  Apparently I have very sophisticated taste buds.  

I was a little skeptical of this recipe but now I love it.  It's so easy and filling and can feed a bunch of people.

It's also a really fast recipe and is good for nights when you have to do something quick with easy clean up.  You can make this healthy by making everything from scratch or take the short cuts and get some grocery store help.  You can make most of this ahead of time and it also freezes well.

I'm on a crock pot kick right now and I started by throwing some chicken thighs into my crock pot and cooking on low until they were done.  I also grabbed a bag of chicken broth from my freezer to thaw.  Boxed broth works fine though.

Several chicken thighs (cooked and chopped)
4 boxes of corn bread mix
4 cans of chicken broth
3 onions chopped
3 celery chopped
4 garlic chopped
salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and sage.

Cook the corn bread and let it cool.  Saute the onion, celery, and garlic in some butter.  Crumble the cornbread up in a large baking dish.  Top with chicken, veggies, and broth.  Season to taste.

You can freeze it at this point or just bake at 350 until heated through.  

I saw somewhere that you can make cornbread in your crock pot.  I'm going to try it next time I make this.  I figure at thirty three cents a box, I don't have much to lose!