Side Dish
Roasted vegetables is probably the easiest side dish you can make.
Ingredients:
Green Beans, washed and trimmed of stems
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Grated Garlic (optional)
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Toss the green beans in olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic. Roast on a baking sheet until browned, about 25 minutes.
Tags: Gluten Free, Green Beans, Roasting, Side Dish
Robbie’s favorite Thanksgiving side dish is most definitely mashed potatoes.
Ingredients:
2 lbs potatoes, washed and peeled
½-1 stick butter
½-1 cup half-and-half or milk
Salt & pepper to taste
Cut potatoes into 1 inch chunks and place in a large pot. Fill with enough water to completely cover the potatoes by a couple inches. Bring to a boil and simmer until fork tender. Drain.
Mash with butter and enough half-and-half/milk until the mashed potatoes reach your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
This can be made ahead of time and reheated in the oven when it’s time to eat.
Serves: 4-6
Tags: Gluten Free, Potato, Side Dish, Thanksgiving
Rolls are a must-have for Thanksgiving! This recipe comes from allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
2 cups hot water
1/2 cup margarine, plus more to brush on hot rolls
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup cold water
2 (.25 oz) packages active dry yeast
5 1/2-6 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
In a large bowl, melt the margarine in the hot water. Stir in sugar and salt. Add the cold water and yeast, whisking until dissolved.
Add 3 cups of the flour, stir to combine. Stir in the eggs and remaining flour until a dough is formed.
Cover and let rise until the dough doubles in size, about 30 minutes. Punch down, cover and let rise until doubled in size again, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 2 muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray.
Form the dough into walnut sized balls, drop 3 balls into each of the muffin tins. Bake until browned, about 30-40 minutes. Brush with melted margarine when they come out of the oven.
Yield: 24 Rolls
Tags: Bread, Thanksgiving, Yeast Rolls
I love sweet potatoes! YUM! And, no…not the kind from a can with mini marshmallows on top…yuck.. Real sweet potatoes with a delicious pecan topping. Perfect for Thanksgiving. This is adapted from a recipe from Food Network. For Thanksgiving I make a double batch of this and put it in a 9X13 inch baking dish. When I make this for Thanksgiving, I prepare it the night before without the topping on it. When it’s almost time to eat, just sprinkle on the topping and throw it in the oven.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 large), scrubbed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the preparing the pan
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
For the topping:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/6 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup melted butter
Preheat oven to 400°F. Poke the sweet potatoes several times with a fork and bake until very tender, about 45 minutes.
Scoop out the sweet potato flesh and discard the skins. Mash with a potato masher until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and pepper.
Butter an 8X8 inch casserole dish and pour in the sweet potato mixture.
For the topping, mix together the pecans, flour, brown sugar and butter. Sprinkle on top of the sweet potatoes in the casserole dish.
Bake 30 minutes.
Serves: 6
Tags: Pecans, Sweet Potato, Thanksgiving
This gravy recipe comes from Rachael Ray. She made this on her show a few days ago. Gravy is just one of those things that I’ve struggled with making for some reason. It never seems to turn out right. Although this one was very easy to make and it turned out pretty good. This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. Just reheat on the stove and add the pan drippings when the turkey comes out of the oven.
Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons butter
Cracked black pepper
4 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon ground poultry seasoning
1 quart turkey or chicken stock
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 to 2 cups pan drippings, fat skimmed or separated
Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the pepper, flour and poultry seasoning, whisk to combine. Let this cook for 1 minute.
Whisk in the stock and Worcestershire sauce. Raise heat to medium-high to thicken the gravy. Once thickened, temper in the egg yolks by adding a ladle of the gravy into a bowl with the egg yolks, then whisk the tempered eggs into the pan.
Add the pan drippings from the turkey, whisk to combine.
Yield: 1½ quarts
Tags: Gravy, Side Dish, Thanksgiving
This is something that we always have at Thanksgiving in my family. It is typically served with the meal, but could also be dessert.
Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) bag fresh cranberries
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple (drained and towel dried)
1 (7oz) jar marshmallow creme
1¼ cup sugar
8 oz Cool Whip
Lightly chop the cranberries in a food processor.
In a large bowl, stir together the chopped cranberries, pineapple, marshmallow creme and sugar. Once combined, fold in the Cool Whip.
Freeze until firm, about 3-4 hours or overnight. Thaw in the refrigerator and serve cold.
Tags: Cranberries, Dessert, Gluten Free, Side Dish, Thanksgiving
Green bean casserole is a staple for Thanksgiving dinner. I’m experimenting with a new recipe here and comparing it to the traditional Campbell’s recipe. The new recipe is from Alton Brown, so I have faith that it will be delicious. I made these to bring to our Tuesday night Bible study so I could have some taste testers. Everyone decided that they were both very good, but the Alton Brown version was more flavorful. The Campbell’s version was much saltier, but had that classic flavor that brings back memories of Thanksgiving. More of the Alton Brown casserole was eaten than the Campbell’s version, so that says something too. They were both tasty, but I much prefer the Alton Brown version.
Campbell’s Classic Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:
1 can (10 ¾ oz) Cream of Mushroom Soup
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Dash ground black pepper
4 cups (2 cans, drained) cut green beans
1 1/3 cups French’s French Fried Onions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a 1½ quart casserole dish, stir together the cream of mushroom soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, green beans, and 2/3 cup french fried onions.
Bake until hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining french fried onions. Bake until the onions are browned, about 5 minutes.
Alton Brown’s Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:
For the topping –
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray
For beans and sauce -
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
Preheat oven to 475°F.
Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the onions, flour, bread crumbs and salt. Spread evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Bake on the middle rack in the oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Toss the onions twice during cooking to prevent burning them. Let cool.
Turn oven temperature down to 400°F.
Fill a large pot with 1 gallon of water. Bring to a coil and add 2 Tablespoons of salt. Add the beans to the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the green beans and place them in ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain again.
In a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes to soften them. Stir in the garlic and nutmeg and cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, cook for another minute. Stir in the broth and cook for 1 minute. Lower heat to medium-low and stir in the half-and-half. Simmer until thickened, about 7 minutes.
Remove the mushroom mixture from the heat and stir in the green beans and ¼ of the browned onions. Sprinkle the remaining onions on top. Bake until bubbly, about 15 minutes.
Tags: Green Beans, Onion, Side Dish, Thanksgiving
Stuffing is my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. This stuffing isn’t stuffed inside the bird, it’s made on the stove top then baked to make it crispy on the top. One thing I can’t stand is mushy stuffing! This recipe comes from Rachael Ray.
Ingredients:
¼ cup butter
1 bay leaf
4 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium-large onion, chopped
3 apples, quartered and chopped
Salt & pepper
2 Tablespoons poultry seasoning
¼ cup parsley
8 cups cubed stuffing mix
2 cups chicken stock
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bay leaf, celery, onion and apples. Season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Cook until the veggies start to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and stuffing cubes. Pour in the chicken stock and stir to combine. The stuffing cubes should be soft, not wet.
Form the stuffing into a large loaf on the baking sheet and bake until crispy and browned on top, about 15-20 minutes. This can also be make in buttered muffin tins for individual stuffing muffins. The muffins will only need to bake for 10-15 minutes.
Serves: 12
Tags: Apples, Side Dish, Stuffing, Thanksgiving
I got a new steamer basket, so I thought I would try it out.
Ingredients:
Artichokes (a large steamer basket will fit 2-3 artichokes)
1 clove garlic
1 slice lemon
1 bay leaf
Using kitchen scissors, cut off the thorny tips of the leaves. Cut off the top of the artichoke, about 3/4 inch. Cut off the stem so it will be able to stand up in the steamer basket. Rinse the artichokes under cold running water.
In a large pot, pour in a couple inches of water and add the garlic clove, lemon slice and bay leaf. Place the steamer basket in the pot and stand the artichokes up in the basket. Cover the pot, bring to a boil them simmer until the leaves can be easily pulled off. This will take between 25 and 40 minutes depending on their size.
Tags: Artichoke, Gluten Free, Side Dish
I made these mashed potatoes to go with the Cranberry Pork Loin, but of course mashed potatoes go great with almost anything.
Ingredients:
Potatoes (about 1 per person)
Optional mix-ins:
Butter
Milk or sour cream or cottage cheese
Green onions, chopped
Salt & pepper
Cheese
Chop the potatoes into large chunks. There is no need to peel them, unless you don’t like the skin. Place in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly and simmer until tender. Drain.
Add any mix-ins you like and mash together with a potato masher.
Tags: Gluten Free, Potato, Side Dish, Thanksgiving