Misty's GLUTEN FREE CORNBREAD STUFFING

Take a deep breath.  THIS IS A SERIES OF 5 STEPS.  YOU WANT TO START THIS THE WEEK BEFORE your big feast.  If you finish it early, no worries, just stick in the freezer, thaw out the night before and bake as suggested.  Although this is a FIVE STEP PROCESS, trust me when I say, IT IS EASY.

STEP 1:  MAKE HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK.  Want to know how we do it here at Terrell Ranch?  Stick a whole chicken in the crock pot.  Lightly season it w/ some Herbs De Provence, sea salt, pepper or whatever seasoning you want.  Just DON'T OVERDO IT.  Fill the cavity w/ whatever suits you.  I like to stuff mine w/ 1/2 an onion, 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 an apple, carrot, celery, and any fresh herbs such as rosemary and sage.  Cook your chicken on low for 8-12 hours (no need to add water!) and have it for dinner.  Yummy.  After you've picked off all the meat, PUT ALL THE BONES BACK INTO THE CROCK POT...along w/ the innards and cavity fillings...everything.  I even throw in apple cores, onion skins, etc.  FILL THE CROCK POT ALL THE WAY TO THE RIM W/ WATER AND THEN TURN THE HEAT ON LOW OR WARM OVERNIGHT...24 HOURS IS EVEN BETTER.

Pour stock through strainer into a large bowl and WAH-LAH!  The best homemade broth you've ever had.  And by the way...the $12 whole chicken provided enough meat to feed your entire family (plus leftovers) and also just provided you w/ the most nutritious 2 gallons of stock ever.  Yay for you.  Stick in freezer up to 6 months.

Now...I SUPPOSE you could just use boxed broth...but really?  Why?  This is the easiest thing EVER to do and so much more nutritious AND tasty!

STEP 2:  MAKE YOUR GLUTEN-FREE ALL PURPOSE FLOUR MIX.  There are so many variations out there, but here is my favorite go-to:  click HERE for recipe.


STEP 3:  MAKE THE CORNBREAD  For recipe, click HERE.

STEP 4:  CUT CORNBREAD INTO SMALL CUBES AND DRY OUT THE CORNBREAD.  **the key to a delicious stuffing is YOUR BREAD MUST BE COMPLETEEY DRIED OUT.  You can do this 1 of 2 ways...let it sit out for a couple of days until it gets stale or speed up the process by placing it into a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes or so (time depends on how dry the bread is before going into oven).  I did both.  I let my bread sit out for 24 hours and then stuck it in the oven.  I took it out when it felt crunchy.

STEP 5:  MAKE THE STUFFING!

Ingredients

1 recipe gluten-free cornbread cut into 1 inch cubes and dried out (about 5 cups) **

3 tablespoons unsalted butter OR EVOO

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 ribs of celery sliced thin

1 apple (more sour than sweet like green, gala, braeburn, etc) peeled and cut into small bites

½ teaspoon ground thyme (at least double if using fresh)

¼ teaspoon ground, dried sage (at least double if using fresh)

¼ teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled (at least double if using fresh)

¾ – 1 cup homemade chicken stock

¼ cup water 

freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Melt butter or EVOO over medium low heat. Add onion and celery and apple. Cook for 5 minutes, then add spices or herbs. Cook for another 5 minutes or until celery is tender. Remove from heat and place into a large bowl. Dump cornbread into the bowl. Add ¾ cup chicken stock and ¼ cup water. Gently mix so you don't tear up the bread. This is where you have to use your own judgment – you want the dressing to be wet but not soggy. You want just enough liquid so the bread can absorb it all but not so much that it's swimming in a puddle of broth.

Gently turn dressing into desired dish – I like my dressing thinner so I use a baking dish that lets me spread it out. Season the top with a few turns of the pepper mill. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes, until top is golden brown and crispy.