Cornbread Stuffing with Mushrooms

Well. This was an action-packed weekend!

We just sold Georgie. Well, not officially as in “she’s gone,” officially as in “she leaves this weekend.” Ironically, we just barely decided to officially post them as for sale this weekend. I guess it’s sort of a good thing that it’s yet to sink in…but I know she’ll be getting a great home.

In case anyone is wondering who I’m talking about – this girl:

One of the two ponies we “saved” this summer. We took them in with full intent of rehoming one if not both of them…though we sort of put it off as we were having so much fun with them, and with the winter freeze upon us we can’t really continue their training to improve their marketability. (That and I had secret dreams of going to dressage shows with not one but two Haflinger ponies.) But logically, I know I won’t have time or funds to train two horses in addition to work and school, and it’s not right to let one of them just sit because of that. As an animal lover, I know to put the animal first. Georgie is too sweet, too young, and has too much potential to sit in our backyard. Now she’ll be doted on and hey – maybe we’ll even compete against her! Wouldn’t that be something?!

She was definitely fun to work with, though If I had all the money in the world, I would bring her to the barn I’ve got Teddie at to work with – but, I just don’t. And one is enough for me

Anyways. I feel like I’ve baked up a storm this weekend as well as practically lived outside. Oh, and I have no AA batteries for my flash so I only have a couple breakfast pictures because daylight savings makes it dark for dinner and my lunches weren’t particularly aesthetically pleasing.

So instead, we’ll just talk stuffing. Or dressing. Whatever. A couple of you were curious about the cornbread stuffing I made, and since it was so good – I want to post it for my own safe-keeping, too! You’ve probably seen these pictures before, but just work with me.

I chose a simple cornbread for this. You don’t need some crazy-good, intricate cornbread – just something simple and traditional I feel would show it off best. I used Moosewood’s Vegan Cornbread recipe, which I can’t find online so you’ll just have to buy the Cooking for Health cookbook.

And, to give credit where credit is due – I never would have made cornbread dressing were it not for Sarena. There never would have been mushrooms had it not been for a stuffing recipe in Everyday with Rachel Ray. And there ever would have been a pear were it not for the ppk.

 

And before you ask, yes, I do enjoy reading Everyday with Rachel Ray. I choose that over Glamour and Cosmo all the time. And yes, I did sneak that pear in there just to defy my mother. After we were done, she said “And you didn’t trick me – I know you put a pear in there!”

She did love this stuffing/dressing, though.

Cornbread Stuffing with Mushrooms

• 1 1/2 9” pie plates of cornbread
• 3 T. Earth Balance or olive oil
• 1 c. chopped onion
• 1 c. chopped celery
• ~2 c. kale, torn into bite sized pieces
• 10 oz. package of white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 t. dried sage
• 1 t. salt
• 1 c. + 2 T. vegetable broth
• 1 medium red pear, diced

Preheat the oven to 350*. Cut the cornbread into approximately 1/2” pieces and spread onto a baking sheet. Toast for about 10 minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, heat the oil or melt the earth balance in a large pot over medium heat. Add in the onions and cook until translucent, then add in the kale and celery. Cook until kale is wilted, and add in the mushrooms. Cook until tender. Season with sage and salt.

Add in the toasted cornbread and gently incorporate everything together. Some pieces will start to crumble, but that’s okay. Gently stir in the broth and pear, and pour mixture into a lightly oiled 9×13 pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until lightly browned.

And trust me – you won’t want to wait until next Thanksgiving to try this…although you might want to halve or quarter the recipe if you’re only feeding yourself…this served four of us Thanksgiving day, and we still had more than half left. If I had to guess, maybe 10 or so servings?

What’s your favorite dressing/stuffing consist of?