Faith Hill’s Mom Edna Makes a Mean Cornbread Dressing [Recipe]

Nashville Kat and I were chatting this week about dressing.  When my grandmother was alive, she made homemade dressing every Thanksgiving/Christmas and I absolutely loved it.  I have no clue what her recipe was or what she put in it.  I do know, however, that it always tasted amazing, regardless of the varying degrees of firmness that drove her insane in the kitchen.

Well, lo and behold, in addition to sharing with us her own recipe for Crock-Pot Sausage Apple Cranberry Sourdough Stuffing, Kat sent along a recipe she got from Faith Hill's mom.  Here's the recipe for Edna's Cornbread Dressing.

From Nashville Kat:

Faith Hill’s Mom Edna’s Cornbread Dressing

1 Whole Chicken

1 to 1 1/2 Cups Martha White Self-Rising Yellow Cornmeal Mix

6 Eggs (5 boiled)

Buttermilk

3 TBSP butter-flavored Crisco

A bunch of green onions, chopped

3 stems of celery, chopped

Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 teas. sage seasoning

Kroger All-purpose seasoning

Salt & Pepper

CORNBREAD:

Take an iron skillet and fill with 3 TBSP butter Crisco. Heat on stop top until melted. In a mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, 1 egg and buttermilk to the right consistency. After you've mixed, pour the melted Crisco on top of the mixture and stir until desired consistency. Leave a little Crisco in the skillet so the bread won't stick. Also sprinkle a little cornmeal in skillet before pouring the bread mixture into the skillet. Bake at 500º until brown.

CHICKEN:

Clean the chicken...wash and pull out the gizzard and liver, unwrap them and cook with the chicken. If you have a pressure cooker, cover the chicken with water and cook under pressure for 20 minutes. After cooked, set aside and let cool. Set aside the gizzard and liver for the gravy.

DRESSING:

While the chicken is cooking, in a large bowl, crumble the cooked cornbread and add the chopped onions, celery, 3 chopped boiled eggs. Add 14-16 oz of homemade cream of chicken soup, sage, all purpose seasoning, chicken broth from the cooked chicken and stir together. If the mixture is too thick, add a little hot water until it's the right consistency. SET ASIDE 3 VERY LARGE SPOONFULS OF DRESSING FOR THE GRAVY. Bake the mixture at 350º-375º until form or brown on top, about 35-45 minutes.

GRAVY:

Combine 14-16 oz. of homemade cream of chicken soup, the 3 spoonfuls of dressing, 2 chopped boiled eggs, gizzard & liver (chopped), a cup of cooked chicken, chopped. Add a little grated carrot for color if you have it in your kitchen. Add a little hot water for the right consistency of gravy. Cook real slow and simmer.

**Now, I am just telling you right now, there is ZERO chance I am making this gravy because the thought of chopped up gizzards and liver makes me want to puke my face off.  When I used to fish with the grandfather, we used chicken livers as bait and I thought they smelled horrendous.  A catfish may eat one.  I'm not going to.**

NOTE: Reserve the extra cooked chicken to freeze or add to your dressing before you cook it.