Thanksgiving Dishes

[LeeAndra]

So what do y'all make for Thanksgiving dinner (or already did this year for our Great White North neighbors)?!

Like how do you make turkey, mashed potatoes, etc. 'special' from year to year?

My sister is hosting her first holiday in her new house, and I have been assigned green bean casserole (which is totally fine).

My husband, however, cannot eat traditional green bean casserole ('cream of' soups generally have gluten in them + the crunchy onion bits do, too, of course) so I thought I might 'branch out' and do a spin on GBC.

Anyone have any recipes to share? Or just other general Thanksgiving/Christmas/holiday recipes?

[I love collecting recipes. Using them on the other hand... :p]

[YepBrook]

When we do Thanksgiving at my mom's we do everything 'normal'... no special recipes, really. My mom was always about convenience in the kitchen when I was little, so growing up we didn't have a lot of things from scratch. We did do mashed potatoes from scratch... no powdered stuff! :) We had pepperidge farm herbed cube stuffing, nothing added to it like onions or celery (my dad liked it plain). Canned cranberry sauce. Green Bean Casserole from the recipe on the onions. The turkey was fresh and mom made in a bag so it was nice and juicy, but we didn't stuff it.

Now, as an adult, I've added some things to our family thanksgivings. I make cranberry sauce from scratch with orange juice & peels, clove, apple, fresh cranberries and cinnamon sticks. It's sooo good. I also make roasted carrots with a honey/lemon glaze. We still like our 'regular' green bean casserole, but the recipe I use has soy sauce in it. Not sure if that's what's in the original recipe. And I make Ina Garten's sausage and herb stuffing along with mom's plain pepperidge stuff. Dad still likes it plain. ;)

[scrap2day]

My family likes plain old traditional (turkey, mashed potatoes, etc.). My mom is the kind that likes to "mix it up" but that doesn't go over well. One year it was some beet, turnip, whatever.

[scrap2day]

So what do y'all make for Thanksgiving dinner (or already did this year for our Great White North neighbors)?!

Like how do you make turkey, mashed potatoes, etc. 'special' from year to year?

My sister is hosting her first holiday in her new house, and I have been assigned green bean casserole (which is totally fine).

My husband, however, cannot eat traditional green bean casserole ('cream of' soups generally have gluten in them + the crunchy onion bits do, too, of course) so I thought I might 'branch out' and do a spin on GBC.

Anyone have any recipes to share? Or just other general Thanksgiving/Christmas/holiday recipes?

[I love collecting recipes. Using them on the other hand... :p]

I haven't made the green bean casserole gf but I know there are recipes (http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/gluten-free-green-bean-casserole-with-fried-onions/74dac433-d6db-46c1-9003-6d7a4d5c03b7) out there. I also have used the Pacific brand cream of soups (http://www.pacificfoods.com/food/soups/condensed-soups.aspx) in some recipes. Look for the ones that are gluten free. Green bean casserole used to my "thing" to bring to Thanksgiving. I should really try to make a gf version.

[staciahall]

We have turkey, real mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole with brown sugar/nuts, Paula Deen's cornbread dressing, gravy, Parker House rolls, squash and onions and the occasional new thing on Thanksgiving.

[YepBrook]

We have turkey, real mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole with brown sugar/nuts, Paula Deen's cornbread dressing, gravy, Parker House rolls, squash and onions and the occasional new thing on Thanksgiving.

Oh yes, that reminds me. We do the same type of sweet potato casserole you do. So yummy!

[rach3975]

Thanksgiving is interesting in my house because we have a lot of vegetarians (including me). Some of the things we usually have:

Turkey
Tofurkey (vegetarian turkey)
Pepperidge farm stuffing
Stuffing casserole (a little stuffing and lots of vegetables)
A few kinds of potatoes
A few kinds of vegetables (but never green bean casserole--don't think I've ever had it)
Cranberry sauce-always canned, sometimes also homemade
Apple sauce
Bread or rolls
Pumpkin mousse
Apple pie
Chocolate mousse or another chocolate dessert

[YepBrook]

Mmm... pumpkin mousse? I need that recipe. :)

[KristinCB]

I don't care about anything other than the stuffing.. LOL!

[nietis]

Y'all making me hungry with all this food talk going!

[YepBrook]

I don't care about anything other than the stuffing.. LOL!

Stuffing is my favorite too. :wub: Mmmm... hot wet bread. LOL :D

[KristinCB]

I like mine mostly dry- crunchy dried out bread LOL!

[YepBrook]

Those are croutons. ;)

[mariewilcox]

We have Thanksgiving at my parents every year with my sisters and their families, so my mom still makes her traditional things. I don't eat the turkey since I don't eat meat (but I never actually liked turkey when I did anyway :p) Here's our list:

Turkey
Stuffing (with added onion, celery, dried cranberries)
Gravy
Mashed potatoes
Glazed sweet potatoes
German red cabbage
Creamed onions
Peas
Cranberry sauce (jellied from a can because no one except me and my my mother likes whole sauce)
Bourbon pumpkin pie with candied pecans
Selection of homemade German cookies including Pfeffernusse, Zimsterne, Springerle, and Lebkuchen

[nesser1981]

Well, Thanksgiving here in Michigan tends to be different than Thanksgiving was in Florida, so I've just kind of started trying to go with the flow since we go to my inlaws, and I make the traditional meal exactly how I like it for Christmas dinner.

My Inlaws Do
Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Stuffing
Some sort of vegetable
and rolls usually.

Since we've moved here, I make
Sweet Potato Casserole
Deviled Eggs

And my SIL does Greenbean Casserole
Seems like my MIL has started doing a corn casserole and a homemade cranberry walnut relish thing (that I love).

I don't like stuffing, I want my southern cornbread dressing. LOL! So I get almost everything at their Thanksgiving that I want, other than my dressing.

I'll probably make a Chocolate Pecan Pie and my MIL does Pumpkin.

For Christmas I'll do
Turkey
Dressing
Cranberry Relish
Mashed Potatoes w/ Gravy
Homemade Yeast Rolls
Sweet Potato Casserole
Corn on the Cob
Green Bean Casserole
Deviled Eggs

French Silk Pie
Pumpkin Pie
And I think I'm going to make my Granny's Rum Cake.

[marlathrall]

Our menu:

Fried Turkey (yum)
Ham
Mashed Potatoes (PW's recipe, ftw) & gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Stuffing (right out of the box! lol)
Bacon wrapped little smokes
Cheese & summer sausage with crackers
Rolls

And then we normally go crazy with the pies... Pumpkin, Pecan, Coconut cream, peanut butter, sometimes a cheesecake, etc. I have no idea why we make so many kinds, but I find it impossible to cut one.

[JennNtheBoys]

I guess for us the meal is pretty basic... carrots, corn, potatos, peas, cranberry sauce, (nothing special done with any of them -- I don't really touch veggies, but worse than veggies are foods touching each other so everything had to be kept seperate, the thought of casseroles makes my stomach turn), my Dad would fuss over the turkey ALL day (even though it was only ever the 5 of us - dad mom, me and my 2 brothers he always had to have the BIGGEST turkey he could find - so he was up at 5am on any holiday to get it in the oven on time). His turkey was always amazing! He also did the gravy (no one could make gravy like him - you would think he was a mad scientist the way everything had to be just so and perfect for making it lol) and then of course his FAMOUS stuffing! I was never a stuffing fan but everyone who ever had it always raved about his stuffing. The desserts on the other hand... there was always one of everyone's favorite pie waiting (and then a few extras for good measure ;))... not nearly as many sweets and treats as there were at Christmas time but still lots.

wanna know the BEST part about Thanksgiving?? I get TWO! My family is American and we moved to Canada when us kids were young, so we would do the Canadian Thanksgiving AND do American Thanksgiving. My parents would even let us stay home from school on American Thanksgiving if we wanted to (and of course I did... umm hellooooo.... Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was on tv... couldn't miss that!! ). This is something I carried on with my kids as a tradition and they love it! I'm sure my oldest will want to go to school this year because I don't think he'd survive an unnecessary day off from his girlfriend (lol), I know the little ones are excited, especially my MIni Chef Rob... he's looking forward to the FOOD and helping to prepare a Thanksgiving meal all over again! :)

[JennNtheBoys]

I like mine mostly dry- crunchy dried out bread LOL!

Don't worry, I'll team up with you against these soggy bread lovers!! I like mine dry too....

[mariewilcox]

Don't worry, I'll team up with you against these soggy bread lovers!! I like mine dry too....

My favorite part of the stuffing is the part that was exposed and all crunchy and brown :wub:

[nesser1981]

See, our Stuffing is called dressing. LOL! I don't stuff the bird. And we use cornbread, and it is moist.

[lovely1m]

I always, always work Thanksgiving, but was randomly given it off this year. I have no idea what to do with myself now. I don't know what to cook. It doesn't help that I am vegetarian and my boyfriend and son are big meat eaters.

[KristinCB]

Our menu:

Fried Turkey (yum)
Ham
Mashed Potatoes (PW's recipe, ftw) & gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Stuffing (right out of the box! lol)
Bacon wrapped little smokes
Cheese & summer sausage with crackers
Rolls

And then we normally go crazy with the pies... Pumpkin, Pecan, Coconut cream, peanut butter, sometimes a cheesecake, etc. I have no idea why we make so many kinds, but I find it impossible to cut one.

nothing with corn, marla?!