Chicken and Dressing

One 2 – 3 pound whole chicken

7 cups of chicken broth

2 stalks of celery finely chopped

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 pan of corn bread (instructions below) 

3-4 slices of white bread

2 boiled eggs, finely chopped

½ stick of butter

1 tablespoon of poultry seasoning

1 tsp Cavenders Greek Seasoning

Additional salt and pepper, to taste

Wash chicken and place in a large pot; add enough water to cover chicken. Add chopped celery and onion. Cover pot and bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium. Cook about 45 minutes to an hour, until chicken easily pulls from the bone and is done all the way through. Remove pot from heat. Carefully remove chicken from pot and put in a large bowl. Set aside to cool. Leave cooked celery and onion in the pot with the stock. 

While the chicken is cooking, make the cornbread.

Corn bread recipe: 

1 cup corn meal (Martha White Corn Meal Mix)

1/4 cup self rising flour

1 egg

¾ cup butter milk

Pour 2 tablespoons of oil in an 8” cast iron skillet and heat in a 400 degree oven until hot

(do not let oil get so hot it starts to smoke).

Mix corn meal and flour together in a bowl, then add egg and buttermilk. Stir together until well mixed and pour into hot skillet. 

Cook at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. 

Debone cooled chicken and discard skin. Tear chicken meat into 1” – 2” pieces. Set aside.

Measure the stock left from cooking the chicken and add canned broth if necessary to come to 7 cups of liquid. Crumble the cooked cornbread into the pot of broth. Tear white bread into small pieces and add to the crumbled cornbread and broth. Use a large spoon and/or potato masher to completely incorporate the white bread pieces into the mixture and to eliminate any clumps. 

Add butter, chopped boiled egg, chicken pieces and seasonings and mix well. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and bake at 350 for an hour, or until bubbly, top is lightly brown and it has a light crust on top. 

3 cups of cooked sweet potatoes, peeled and mashed

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

¼ cup of milk

1 tsp of vanilla extract

¾ stick of melted butter

Topping

1 cup of brown sugar

½ cup of flour

1 cup of chopped pecans

¼ stick of butter, sliced into thin pats

Put sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla in a bowl and mix well. Stir in melted butter.

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. 

Stir together brown sugar and flour with a fork to blend. Add pecans to mixture and stir well. Pour evenly over the sweet potato mixture. Scatter pats of butter on top of sugar and nut topping, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.   

1 – 21 oz can of apple pie filling

1 – 9” graham cracker pie crust

2 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese, at room temperature

½ cup sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

½ cup caramel topping

12 pecan halves, plus 2 tbls of chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Reserve ¾ cup of the apple pie filling and set aside. Spoon the remaining pie filling into the pie crust and spread evenly. 

Beat together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the eggs and mix well. Pour this mixture over the pie filling in the crust. 

Bake for 35 minutes or until the center of the cake is set. Cool to room temperature. 

Mix the reserved pie filling and caramel topping in a small saucepan and heat for about 1 minute or until spreadable. Spoon the caramel apple mixture over the top of the cooled cake and spread evenly. Decorate the edge of the cake with the whole pecans and sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Refrigerate until ready to serve.