In the spirit of thankfulness, our little family of 3 {or 5 if you count our 4-legged family members like we do!} had a mini Thanksgiving at home this past weekend.
It was the hubster’s idea, but I was all for it!
We didn’t have all the fixin’s, just a small turkey, homemade dressing {or stuffing, however you call it} + cranberry chutney, and simple oven roasted Brussels sprouts.
I didn’t whip up my mother-in-laws sweet potato casserole and I didn’t make my beloved pear salad. We just made a few basics to get us through a full week of work while being in the spirit of Thanksgiving.
I’m waiting ’til next week for those treats though!
This cornbread dressing is a round 2 recipe of my pumpkin cornbread muffins I made last week. It’s a great homemade, whole grain, twist on a classic Thanksgiving side dish.
If you’re like me and have always thought that stuffing recipes that require you to make cornbread ahead of time is too labor intensive to do when planning Thanksgiving, then this is the method for you! Simply make a batch double batch of cornbread whenever you need, and freeze leftover cubes of bread until needed. Wa-la! One step done, and no more stress to add to your Thanksgiving menu!
Pumpkin Cornbread Dressing
Makes: 8-12 servings
Ingredients:
12 pumpkin cornbread muffins (see last week’s post here), cubed
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon Land O’Lakes Whipped Butter
1 bell pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup pumpkin beer {optional, can just double stock}
1/4 cup unsalted turkey stock {or vegetable, chicken, seafood stock}
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 eggs, beaten
Directions:
Lay the cubes of cornbread on a sheet tray to dry out for a few hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non stick spray.
In a large skillet, heat the olive and butter to medium heat. Add the bell pepper, celery, onions and saute for a few minutes until the veggies soften (about 5-10). Add the garlic and saute for another few minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic.
Splash in some beer or stock to prevent the veggies from burning and allowing to tenderize. Add the poultry seasoning and black pepper, toss to combine.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the cornbread cubes and toss to combine and coat. Add in the cooked veggies and stir everything together. If the mixture looks to dry, you can add more stock to allow the cornbread to absorb some more liquid and not dry out when baking.
Pour the stuffing mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the cornbread has slightly browned.
Enjoy!
xo,
Becca
twistednutritionblog.com 