I like chicken. When I was growing up, chicken was for special occasions. When we needed one for a meal, Mother went to the chicken coop and selected a non-laying hen. How did she know which was which? Easy. She would catch one and lay two fingers between the hip bones just below the tail. If that space was wide, she was a lying hen. If it was narrow, her laying days were over. She would be the star of that Sunday dinner.

In the forties and early fifties, a dressed chicken at the meat market was whole. If you planned to fry or make soup, you were the one to cut it up. Nowadays, I can buy chicken canned, frozen or fresh in the meat case. If I need chicken breasts for a recipe, I purchase a package of chicken breasts. Chicken legs and thighs come in 10 lb packages as well. Back in the day there weren't recipes for individual parts. The recipes started out: "Cut up a 3 lb chicken."

Let me describe the division of the chicken at our table. Dad got the breast, both pieces. My brothers shared the thighs and drumsticks. I had the two back pieces. Mother ate both wings and the neck. That's the way it was. My brothers and I knew better than to take one of those breast pieces. I never knew what the breast tasted like until after I was grown. My, how times have changed.

The recipe I have for you today calls for a 12-oz can of chicken breast. I just go to my pantry, select a can of chicken, a package of Jiffy corn muffin mix, a few veggies and I am ready to begin. This dressing recipe is easy and delicious. There is no bread to toast and shred. The chicken broth comes in a can. I turn on my electric oven and put it together.

CHICKEN CORNBREAD DRESSING
1 pkg Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix, prepared
1 stalk celery, minced
1 cup minced onion
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups chicken broth
2 eggs, lightly beaten
12-oz can chicken breast, diced

Place crumbled cornbread in large mixing bowl. Add minced celery and onions. Mix well. Pour melted butter over all ingredients along with broth, adding enough broth for a thick consistency. Add seasonings to taste. Add beaten egg. Mix well. Spoon into greased 9 by 9 inch baking pan. Cover and bake at 350 F. for 30 minutes. Remove cover. Bake an additional 30 minutes. The recipe can be doubled. When doing so use 3 eggs and still only one can of chicken breast.