@hannahbananas11 we LOVE springerles at my house. My grandmother gave us all molds a few years ago and they’re so gorgeous. You can do roasted Brussels sprouts and serve them at room temp or cold as a salad! Or a good massaged kale salad with roasted acorn squash and pomegranate seeds would be delicious.
Thanksgiving for us is turkey (duh), stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, sweet potato casserole and corn pudding. Chess pie, pumpkin pie and chocolate pecan pie for dessert!
I'm keeping it easy: Turkey in an oil-less deep fryer, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing... I think that's all I'm responsible for (we also have stuff coming with my parents and ILs to supplement). I'd love to do something more fancy and refined, but I don't have the time or energy.
I just have to bring the green bean casserole (all the packaged garbage dumped together and popped in oven, not a nice homemade version) And showing up for a beautifully prepared meal made my others and someone else’s home. So id say I’m #winning
I've never made Thanksgiving dinner, my MIL is on top of it all and I've only celebrated the holiday three times, but I make a MEAN traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner. Okay, so it's all mostly semi pre-made from a store called Scandinavian Specialties, but it includes pork made four different ways with some veggies. I'd post a recipe but how hard is it to heat up a sausage.
DS born 2/18/2019 DD born 4/1/2023 Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
We go to my DH’s aunt & uncle’s house but I always bring A couple of sides and a dessert.
On tap this year from me...
Baked Corn Casserole
Ruth Chris Inspired Sweet Potatoes
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
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Baked Corn Casserole
1 (15 1/4 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4 oz) can cream-style corn
1 (8 oz) package Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 cup sour cream
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9- by 9-inch baking pan or a 2 quart casserole dish.
2. Mix together the corn, Jiffy, sour cream and butter in a large bowl. Stir in the cheese until combined.
3. Pour corn mix into the prepared pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until golden brown and set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Ruth Chris Inspired Sweet Potatoes
Crust:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter, melted
Sweet Potato Mixture:
3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs , well beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a medium-size casserole dish with nonstick spray.
2. For the crust: Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Chill in the fridge until ready to use. This helps the crumble maintain its form and not melt into the sweet potatoes.
2. Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a large mixing bowl in the order listed. Beat thoroughly with a hand mixer for about 3-4 minutes to increase the fluffiness of the sweet potato mixture. Add a splash of milk if needed and mix.
3. Pour mixture into the baking dish (use a 2 quart dish). Bake for 25 minutes. At this point, dish can be covered and refrigerated for a couple of days if making ahead of time.
*If you refrigerated ahead of time make sure to reheat the potatoes again before adding the crust - around 10-20 minutes.
4. Sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture and return to oven for 10-20 minutes or until crumble is browned. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.
The brown sugar and pecan crust should be slightly browned and crunchy.
Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Bars
About 25 gingersnaps, finely crushed
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, almonds, walnuts-whatever you want
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1. Heat oven to 325
2. Mix cookie bits, nuts and butter and press into 13x9 inch pan. Put into fridge to firm up while making the rest.
3. Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla until blended. Add eggs 1 at a time--beating after each until blended. Remove about a 1 1/2 cups of the batter and set aside. Stir pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and remaining sugar (1/4 cup) into the larger portion of batter.
3. Grab crust out of fridge. Alternate spoonfuls of batter onto crust. Dollop of plain, dollop of pumpkin--do that until you've used all the batter. Using a butter knife, swirl the dollops together--creating a pretty pattern and making you look like a master chef!
4. Bake 45 minutes- or until the center is almost set. Cool completely and store in fridge.
@grebretso - I prefer Christmas dinner to Thanksgiving because of the Scandinavian foods - between my Icelandic and Norwegian heritage and DH's Swedish heritage, we get a wide variety. The only thing I may make from scratch is lefse, but I'll probably be lazy this year and buy it. I really want vinarterta (an Icelandic dessert) but I've never seen it for sale and I'm too lazy to make it this year.
Im super excited that we are just staying home this year. I can't do the multi-house shuffle, my energy is zapped. I'm cooking for just H, DD, and myself and we're staying in pajamas. I'm making turkey, stuffing, corn, mashed potatoes & gravy, and this green bean casserole https://thenovicechefblog.com/the-best-green-bean-casserole/
Pumpkin roll and pumpkin pie for dessert. I should've started desserts tonight, but I'm beat.
We're hosting. My parents get into town tomorrow and I swear I may actually cry when I see them. Food is pretty standard. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn (that I froze over the summer - SO GOOD!!). We're making homemade pumpkin and apple pies tomorrow.
I’ve never done the holiday cooking - but I love struffoli or “honey balls” at Christmas time - no real recipe but I made it with my nana every year and she said you would just know when the dough is right. I haven’t perfected it but I will eventually if I keep trying lol brings me closer to my nana who’s been gone for three years
I usually do both Thanksgiving and Christmas but this year I'm not doing Thanksgiving (thank goodness now). But I tend to go a little overboard... last year I did a spatchcocked (butterflied) turkey and it was amazing. Cut out the backbone, lay it flat over a wire rack and roast at 450 for 80-90 minutes. You do need to put a layer of veggies underneath though because of fat drip. I also did sausage/sage/challah/sourdough stuffing, string beans with chanterelles, sweet potato casserole (with homemade candied pecans AND homemade marshmallows in case you doubted how over the top I go), and grand marnier cranberry sauce.
@megpants209- Nice. Once upon a time in another lifetime when I was not a mom, and also before I was with my socially anxious SO, I used to regularly host dinner and cocktail parties, so I relate to that love. Enjoy!
One day my goal is to take over thanksgiving and any other major holidays but for now I’ll just be making the fudge my grandma used to make for holiday! Now if I can just remember where I put the instruction and recipe sheet 🤦🏽♀️
@megpants209 you sound like me! I've never hosted an actual on-the-holiday-day feast but I do like to have a holiday/winter brunch or I've had dinner parties in the past where I go ALL out. My friends always tell me not to and I'm like but wait let me make these turkey shaped cookies in 3D LOL My husband thinks I'm nuts too...I can't help it! It makes me happy. I'm having a holiday brunch at our house on the 16th of December. I've started menu planning but I'm trying to keep it...simpler lol. I'm thinking big dishes that I can shove in the oven - egg souffle, roasted potatoes (I slice potatoes thin and toss in Lipton onion soup mix - DELISH), ricotta berry cake, ham and swiss hot sandwiches on hawaiian rolls...and I'm sure I'll add a few more items. We're having like 13 adults and 5 kids including my own! lol
I wish I could cook. Maybe if I attempted more I just truly don’t enjoy it, DH does most of the cooking around here. Tomorrow we will be at my parents and then in laws so we don’t have to make anything!
I am the bearer of pies tomorrow - pumpkin and pecan, recipes courtesy of libby's website and the bag of pecans. (last year's pecan pie was an experiment which tasted a bit too much like bourbon for some people, so I'm back to the tried and true) I honestly miss hosting, even if it meant that I was on the other side of the country from family. It meant that I had complete control of all dishes, they were all delicious, had flavor, and not overcooked (sorry not sorry grandma).
@thechickendance no such thing as tasting too much like bourbon. If you want a chocolate pecan pie, southern living has the recipe I use for Derby pie every year. It is to die for.
Re: Holiday Recipe Thread
Chicken and root veggie pot pie
Brussels sprouts with caramelized shallots
Iced pumpkin cookies (except without food coloring in the icing...ick)
And my favorite Christmas recipe is a traditional cookie from Germany called Springerle.
Does anyone have a savory dish that's good at room temp or cold (for holiday potlucks)?
All our our recipes are family recipes except this sweet potato casserole one (https://addapinch.com/cooking/sweet-potato-casserole-pecan-topping/) because my husband is a sweet potato fiend.
Thanksgiving for us is turkey (duh), stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, sweet potato casserole and corn pudding. Chess pie, pumpkin pie and chocolate pecan pie for dessert!
BFP 6.8.2018 EDD 02.18.2019
And showing up for a beautifully prepared meal made my others and someone else’s home.
So id say I’m #winning
DD born 4/1/2023
Baby #3 EDD 11/21/2024
On tap this year from me...
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MMC 2.12.11 @ 8w
PVM 5.8.12
GWM 3.17.15
RPM 2.21.19
BFP 6.8.2018 EDD 02.18.2019
MMC 2.12.11 @ 8w
PVM 5.8.12
GWM 3.17.15
RPM 2.21.19
https://www.skinnytaste.com/cranberry-pear-sauce/
Food is pretty standard. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn (that I froze over the summer - SO GOOD!!). We're making homemade pumpkin and apple pies tomorrow.
@danixbanani24 all that holiday brunch food sounds delicious!! Now I’m hungry lol
I honestly miss hosting, even if it meant that I was on the other side of the country from family. It meant that I had complete control of all dishes, they were all delicious, had flavor, and not overcooked (sorry not sorry grandma).
https://amp.myrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-bourbon-pecan-pie