Cornbread Dressing (Woman’s World, 2002)
To speed this up I get a large box of cornbread mix.
But for you scratch aficionados, here is the total recipe.
Cornbread:
½ cup canola oil
2 cups stone ground cornmeal
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
4 Teaspoons sugar
1 ½ Teaspoons salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten

Dressing:
1 cup unsalted butter, divided
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 cups chopped onion
3 cups chopped celery, about 9 ribs
½ cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves, chopped
¾ Teaspoon salt
½ Teaspoon pepper
3 cups turkey stock or chicken broth

For Cornbread:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat the oil in a 13x9 baking pan in oven until hot. In a bowl combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir in milk and eggs. Pour hot oil into batter; stir until combined. Transfer to same baking pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Cool on rack.

For Dressing:
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Crumble cornbread. In a pot melt ¾ cup butter with oil over medium heat. Add onion and celery; cook until softened for 15 minutes. In a bowl combine cornbread, vegetable mixture, sage, salt and pepper. Transfer to same baking pan. Melt remaining butter; drizzle over cornbread mixture. Cover with foil (Dressing can be prepared a day in advance up to the point. Refrigerate; bring to room temperature before baking.) Bake for 20 minutes; remove foil. Bake for 10 minutes until brown. Makes 14 servings

Stir-Fry Beef and Green Beans

While you wait for turkey and green bean casserole, how about Stir fried beef with green beans? This is a favorite for my family. I find sirloin is nice, but one can tenderize the tougher cuts with the marinade (do at least an hour before cooking. Remember: cook fast on high heat.
For those who are NOT allergic to peanuts, use peanut oil.

2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons dry sherry
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 pound beef, thinly sliced diagonally (flank, sirloin, or round steak)
1/3 cup oil, divided
1 pound green beans, diagonally sliced into ¼ inch pieces
or thaw frozen green beans.
1 cup thinly sliced onion
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried, crushed red pepper
2 Tablespoons corn starch
1½ cups beef broth

In a medium bowl stir together soy sauce, sherry, garlic, sugar and ginger. Add beef and marinate at least 1 hour. In a large skillet or wok, heat 3 Tablespoons oil over medium high heat. Add green beans, onions, and salt and stir fry for 2 minutes until tender crisp. Remove. Add remaining oil and heat over medium high heat. Next add beef, red pepper, stir -fry for 2 minutes until browned. Return beans to pan. Stir beef broth into cornstarch until smooth. Add to skillet. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute. 4 - 6 servings.

Variation 1: Beef and Cauliflower.
Follow the recipe. Substitute 1 small head of cauliflower for green beans. Break cauliflower into flowerets, then slice. Stir in 1 jar of sliced pimientos (2oz) drained.

Variation 2: Beef and Mushrooms.
Follow the recipe. Substitute 1 pound of mushrooms, sliced and 1 cup thinly sliced green pepper for the green beans. Reduce stir-fry time to 2 minutes.

Variation 3: Beef and Chinese Vegetables.
Follow the recipe. Substitute 1 cup diagonally sliced celery, 1 cup sliced mushrooms, 1 can (8oz) water chestnuts, drained then sliced and 1 can (8 ½ oz) sliced bamboo shoots, drained for the green beans. Reduce stir-fry time to 3 minutes.

Note: 1pound boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced, maybe substituted for the beef.