Dinner

I bought a new cookbook at Colleen's Southern Living At Home Party. I'm not big on mass produced cook books because the food usually involves taking things I'd love to eat and combining them in a way that produces something I would NEVER eat. But this one was a good buy, more like a church cookbook with alot more class. Tonight I made a yummy dinner. Now, you all know me by now and know that I don't measure and forget alot of recipe steps. So I'll post my version first, followed by the cookbooks version.

Chicken and Cornbread Casserole - Sarah Style (meaning the easy way)

2 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped (who knows what I used, I just put in some extra onion that I had leftover. Maybe it was a 1/4 onion.
1T vegetable oil (I didn't measure, I just poured into the pan)
1 jiffy sized box of cornbread, cooked according to package and crumbled.
1T poutry seasoning
3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (If you cook frozen breasts in crockpot without adding water, it creates its own juice, maybe 1/2 cup worth. If you used something else, like deli chicken, then add 1/2 c chicken broth to recipe. )
1 c sour cream
1/4 t red pepper
1/4 t salt
1 large egg, beaten
Handful of frozen peas
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Crumble or dice cornbread, layer 1/2 in bottom of greased 8x8 pan. Sprinkle with poultry seasoning. Saute celery and onion in oil, set aside. Combine chicken, juices or broth, egg, sour cream, and seasonings, add celery and onion. Layer on top of cornbread, throw on a handful of frozen peas, (that way you don't have to make a separate veggie) top with remaining cornbread and bake covered for 30 mins at 350. Uncover, add cheese, and bake another 10 mins. YUM.

** The recipe suggested that instead of using cubed chicken, to buy a deli chicken and pull all the meat off the bone. That was my original plan, until I realized that the deli chicken at Dominicks was $8.00!!! Are you insane? NO WAY. Instead I threw 3 breasts in the crockpot, sticky chicken style. Meaning I shook in a bunch of various seasonings, like seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder, stuff like that. Crock until done and shred.

Chicken and Cornbread Casserole - So. Living at Home style...

2 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1T vegetable oil
3 cups crombled cornbread
1T poutry seasoning
3-1/2 cups cooked cubed chicken
1-1/4 can chicken broth
1 c sour cream
1 large egg, beaten
1 jar mushrooms
1/4 t crushed red pepper
1/4 t salt
2 T melted butter
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Saute celery and onion in hot oil in med skillet over medium high heat for 7 mins or until tender, set aside. Combine cornbread and poultry seasoning in large bowl. Layer 1/2 of cornbread mixture on bottom of lightly greased 11x7 inch baking dish. Combine onion mixture, chicken, and next 6 ingredients in a bowl. Spoon mixture over cornbread mixture, top evenly with remaining half of cornbread mixture, and drizzle with butter. Bake, covered, for 30 mins at 350. Uncover, add cheese, and bake another 10 mins.

**Notice I 1/2 the chicken and reduced liquids to 1/2 cup, but kept remaining ingredients the same, and used a 8x8 bowl.