I've become obsessed with my crockpot as of late. At first, I started with the slow cooker I already have (which is actually not a crockpot brand..but anyway), and tested recipes which I normally cook in the oven or on the stove top and moved them to the slow cooker. Of all things- I tried cooking most of my Thanksgiving meal in the slow cooker and it was delicious! Yes, delicious! I made the dressing, the turkey, the sauce and more. I then did it all again the next day for my son and his "bros-giving" with all his friends. I am now officially obsessed.
My first official dish other than the standard "Roast with potatoes and carrots", which I have cooked in the slow cooker for years, was Thanksgiving Dressing! It was YUM. I wasn't sure how it would taste, but decided to go for it. I had NEVER made dressing at all- not in the oven or otherwise, so cooking it in the crockpot was a task just as cooking in the stove would have been for me.
First, I emailed all my friends and co-workers asking for their favorite dressing recipes. My mom has always been the cornbread dressing chef at our house and she made the BEST. However, due to her health, she can no longer cook.
I received several good recipes from friends and then combined and tweaked those with the way I remember my mom's tasting, adding a little bit more sage than the other recipes, adding a little bit of turkey meat, adding premium bread pieces and more. After all the tweaks, I came up with the following perfect CrockPot Dressing Recipe.
RECIPE:
CORNBREAD DRESSING IN THE SLOW COOKER
1. Cook your cornbread early that morning or the night before. I like to use the yellow Martha White Mix or CornKits Mix.
2. Once your cornbread is cooked- let is cool and then crumble it with your hands into a bowl, measuring out 5 cups
3. 1 large bag of Pepperidge farm herb stuffing (this is in the bread baking section usually). I like the Pepperidge Farm, as it seems to be high quality and has a great taste.
Next- simply combine all the ingredients... these include
5 cups crumbled cornbread
(if you like it a little more dense- you can do 5 1/2 cups)
2 cans of cream of chicken soup - pour straight in- do not dilute
2 cans of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of rubbed sage
(I add an extra pinch or so, as I love Sage)
2 tablespoons butter (sliced pieces)-set to the side
1 onion (or sweet) use as you'd like- more or less (sliced/chopped)
4 large eggs beaten
(Optional- shredded pieces of cooked turkey or chicken)
(Mix all except the butter, in a big bowl)
Spray your crockpot (or slow cooker) with a non-stick spray (I like butter flavored). Dump all of the ingredients into the crockpot and then place slices of the butter on the top of the uncooked mixture. I leave some of the pats of butter in the refrigerator to add later too. Let the dressing cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours. A lot of the recipes say low for 8 hours-but I like the HIGH on 3-4 hours. Depending on your cooker, you'll notice the sides of the dressing getting that wonderfully crunchy edging to it. The last hour, you may want to go to LOW for 1 hour, if the sides are already crusting. Add a little more butter to the sides to help keep moisture on the edges, while letting the middle cook. Of course each crockpot (slow cooker) cooks differently, and the same with each type of bowl. A ceramic bowl is going to cook a little hotter in my opinion, so you'll want to watch it closely.
That's it! It's done! This is a DELISH recipe and so easy to make and walk away while it cooks. Let me know what you think or of any good changes/tweaks you make. I'm always looking to improve my slow cooking recipes.
####
My first official dish other than the standard "Roast with potatoes and carrots", which I have cooked in the slow cooker for years, was Thanksgiving Dressing! It was YUM. I wasn't sure how it would taste, but decided to go for it. I had NEVER made dressing at all- not in the oven or otherwise, so cooking it in the crockpot was a task just as cooking in the stove would have been for me.
First, I emailed all my friends and co-workers asking for their favorite dressing recipes. My mom has always been the cornbread dressing chef at our house and she made the BEST. However, due to her health, she can no longer cook.
I received several good recipes from friends and then combined and tweaked those with the way I remember my mom's tasting, adding a little bit more sage than the other recipes, adding a little bit of turkey meat, adding premium bread pieces and more. After all the tweaks, I came up with the following perfect CrockPot Dressing Recipe.
RECIPE:
CORNBREAD DRESSING IN THE SLOW COOKER
1. Cook your cornbread early that morning or the night before. I like to use the yellow Martha White Mix or CornKits Mix.
2. Once your cornbread is cooked- let is cool and then crumble it with your hands into a bowl, measuring out 5 cups
3. 1 large bag of Pepperidge farm herb stuffing (this is in the bread baking section usually). I like the Pepperidge Farm, as it seems to be high quality and has a great taste.
Next- simply combine all the ingredients... these include
5 cups crumbled cornbread
(if you like it a little more dense- you can do 5 1/2 cups)
2 cans of cream of chicken soup - pour straight in- do not dilute
2 cans of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of rubbed sage
(I add an extra pinch or so, as I love Sage)
2 tablespoons butter (sliced pieces)-set to the side
1 onion (or sweet) use as you'd like- more or less (sliced/chopped)
4 large eggs beaten
(Optional- shredded pieces of cooked turkey or chicken)
(Mix all except the butter, in a big bowl)
Spray your crockpot (or slow cooker) with a non-stick spray (I like butter flavored). Dump all of the ingredients into the crockpot and then place slices of the butter on the top of the uncooked mixture. I leave some of the pats of butter in the refrigerator to add later too. Let the dressing cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours. A lot of the recipes say low for 8 hours-but I like the HIGH on 3-4 hours. Depending on your cooker, you'll notice the sides of the dressing getting that wonderfully crunchy edging to it. The last hour, you may want to go to LOW for 1 hour, if the sides are already crusting. Add a little more butter to the sides to help keep moisture on the edges, while letting the middle cook. Of course each crockpot (slow cooker) cooks differently, and the same with each type of bowl. A ceramic bowl is going to cook a little hotter in my opinion, so you'll want to watch it closely.
That's it! It's done! This is a DELISH recipe and so easy to make and walk away while it cooks. Let me know what you think or of any good changes/tweaks you make. I'm always looking to improve my slow cooking recipes.
####
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