Ingredients
Scale
**For the homemade cornbread:
- Cooking spray
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¼ cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
For the dressing:
- 7 cups crumbled cornbread
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3 tbsp butter
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 lb. lump crab meat
- 1 lb. Heartland catfish nuggets
Instructions
**make at least one day ahead of time
- PREHEAT the oven to 400 F.
- GREASE the bottom and sides of an 8×8 pan with cooking spray.
- HEAT the butter in a 1-quart saucepan over low heat until melted. In a large bowl, beat the melted butter, milk and egg with a whisk until well combined.
- ADD the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir until the flour is just combined but still lumpy.
- POUR the batter into the greased pan, using a spatula to scrape batter from the bowl. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and smooth the top of the batter.
- BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
For the dressing:
- PREHEAT the oven to 300 F.
- GREASE a baking dish with cooking spray and place all the cornbread evenly inside. Place the cornbread in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- REMOVE the cornbread from the oven when the 30 minutes are up and place the baking dish on the stovetop to cool.
- TURN the heat up to 350 F. Once the cornbread has cooled, toss it into a large mixing bowl.
- PLACE a large pan on the stovetop and turn the heat to medium. Add 2 tbsp of butter to the pan and once it has melted, toss in the chopped vegetables.
- COOK until the vegetables are translucent, then add them to the mixing bowl with the cornbread. Mix gently until the cornbread and vegetables are evenly incorporated.
- RETURN the pan to medium heat and add 1 tbsp of butter to the pan.
- ADD the catfish nuggets to the pan and cook until fully cooked through, flipping after 5 minutes. When the catfish is cooked through, shred it in the pan with the spatula.
- ADD the catfish to the mixing bowl along with the crab meat. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, salt and Old Bay seasoning. Fold all ingredients together.
- POUR in the vegetable broth and beaten eggs and mix until well combined.
- BUTTER a 9×13 casserole dish and pour all of the dressing inside. Smooth the top of the stuffing to create an even layer and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
- BAKE for 40 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 30 Mins
- Cook Time: 50 Mins