Southwestern-Style Green Chile Cornbread Dressing with Bacon

I found this recipe years ago on delish.com. Shelby Sibthorpe of Shelby Township, MI, submitted it, and it was a finalist in the America’s Best Stuffing recipe contest.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of day-old cornbread or corn muffin crumbs
• 6 slices of bacon
• ½ cup of chopped celery
• 1 cup of canned diced green chiles drained
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 4 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1 can (15 oz) of creamed corn
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1 cup of cream
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of poultry seasoning
• 1 teaspoon of cumin

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 375°F.
2. Chop your celery and onions.
3. Place cornbread crumbs in a large bowl.
4. In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp over medium-low heat. Remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel. Allow to cool, then crumble and add to the cornbread crumbs.
5. Remove all but 3-4 tablespoons of bacon drippings from the skillet. Raise the setting to medium, then add celery and onion to the bacon dripping in skillet. Cook until vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Spoon the skillet contents over the cornbread and toss to combine. Stir in the chiles and creamed corn.
7. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, chicken stock, cream, eggs, and seasonings. Pour the mixture over the cornbread mixture. toss until everything is combined
8. Spoon into a buttered casserole dish and cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes, then uncover. Bake  25 to 30 minutes more or until golden brown on top.

Tips:

I make my cornbread using the Albers Yellow Corn Meal Box recipe in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet. I recommend making the cornbread a day or two ahead of time so that it dries out a bit.

You can also use unseasoned package cornbread crumbs, but you will need to add another cup of liquid (another 1/2 cup of cream and 1/2 cup of chicken stock), or the stuffing will be too dry.

If you know your guests like a bit of zip and heat, add some chopped canned or fresh jalapenos.

This cornbread dressing is the perfect complement to a baked spiral-cut ham dinner. Enjoy!