Recipe(tried): The best Country Cornbread Dressing - Mardella's Country Chicken-Cornbread Dressing (Chiqui Style)

Here is my ABSOLUTE favorite cornbread dressing that is a treasured family recipe from one of my best friends...I did a little tweeking and it always gets rave reviews:
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Mardella's Country Chicken-Cornbread Dressing (Chiqui Style)

For the Chicken:

1 whole chicken, well rinsed
chicken giblets, well rinsed
1 onion, cut-up
2 green onions, left whole
2 carrots, cut-up
2 ribs celery. cut-up
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
few sprigs parsley
1 teasp. lemon-pepper
2 tabsp. chicken soup base

Combine all ingredients in a stockpot and add enough water to cover by three inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 45 min. until chicken is tender. Strain and reserve broth. Remove skin and bones from the chicken and tear into small chunks. Slice or chop all giblets. Place chicken and giblets in a large bowl. Set aside.

For the Dressing:

1-12-inch iron skillet of your favorite cornbread (without sugar, PLEASE!!)This is about two recipes of cornbread in quantity. Cooled and crumbled.
2 cups fresh bread crumbs

1 stick of unsalted butter
3 onions, chopped
3 bunches green onions (scallions), thinly sliced including green tops
1 bell pepper, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
4 hardcooked eggs, finely minced
2 cans cream of chicken soup (...this is how Mardella makes it and I've left it out before and the dressing suffered for it!!)
Rubbed sage to taste (I use about a teasp.)
salt to taste
Lots of black pepper (I use lemon-pepper, of course, sugah)

Reserved chicken stock as needed.

Saute all vegetables in melted butter until softened. Add these to the chicken along with the crumbled cornbread and fresh breadcrumbs. Add all remaining ingredients including enough chicken stock to create a very moist dressing. Don't hessitate to include a lot of broth, as it gets absorbed in the dressing as it bakes.

Divide the dressing between two casseroles. If this seems like more than you need for Thanksgiving, wrap one very well in foil and save it for Christmas dinner..LOL. When ready to serve the other one, bake at 325* for 45 min. Add some turkey drippings on top if needed for extra moisture.

This is sooooo good......my family loves it..especially Uncle Bob (Aunt Tia's husband...he's from Tennessee and really misses his cornbread dressing from his mama.)