Southern Style Cornbread Dressing

This is our family's favorite Thanksgiving staple.  I learned how to make it at a Homemaking meeting when I first moved to Dallas from one of the senior sisters in the ward.  I had never really liked stuffing until she gave me the 411.  I have adapted this to an almost easy recipe.

2 small packages of Jiffy cornbread, prepared according to package instructions, cooled and cubed or crumbled and dried out a couple of days.

1/2 loaf of sour dough bread, torn up or cubed and dried out a couple of days

Sprinkle the crumbs with about 1 T sage.

Brown 1 lb of sausage in a pan.  Drain off the grease. Add one huge chopped onion or two medium onions to the pan.  Cook for about 2 or 3 minutes then add about 6 stalks of coarsely chopped celery to the pan and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Add the vegetables to the crumbs.  In another bowl mix together 2 cups of broth, 6 eggs, and 1/2 cup of melted butter.  Pour this over the crumb-vegetable mix. Stir together gently.  At this point check to see if you need more broth.  You want your stuffing moist but not soggy and dripping.  You will probably add 1 or two more cups of broth.

Stuff it loosely in the bird.  This is technically the stuffing.  The remaining mix goes in a 9X13 pan.  This is the dressing.  Bake the dressing for about 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  When it comes out of the oven pour about 1/4 C of melted butter over the hot dressing, but don't let anyone see you do this.  It is ready to go!

You can adapt this for gluten free by omitting the sourdough bread and by using gluten free cornbread.  For the amounts I have described, sub the Jiffy and the sour dough for one large 13X9 pan of cornbread.