It's easy to fall into repetitive ways when planning the Thanksgiving dinner: It usually goes like this: turkey, served with mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, some gravy and some carrots.
While we're 100% on board with the turkey, a little more creativity can always be applied to the side dishes. Here are ideas and twists on much-loved classics.
A green bean casserole is one of the quintessential holiday casseroles. Plus, it's easy to make.
Mix four cups of cooked green beans, 3/4 cup of milk, one can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, salt and pepper in a baking dish and stir in 2/3 cup of fried onions. Then, bake the whole mixture at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 35 minutes or until it's golden brown and serve it hot.
This green bean casserole will make a warm and hearty addition to your holiday meal.
Sweet potatoes make an excellent sweet and savoury addition to your holiday table. There are many ways to prepare these sweet vegetables but one of the best recipes calls for brown sugar and, surprisingly, marshmallows.
First, take a can of yams in syrup and drain the syrup out. Place the can's contents into a baking dish and sprinkle a little butter and brown sugar over the top. Next, place 10-12 large marshmallows over the top of the mixture and bake it at 275 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes or until the marshmallows are fully melted.
Cauliflower can be a great alternative to mashed potatoes if you're trying to go light on carbs for your Thanksgiving dinner. For this recipe, you'll need a blender or food processor.
Lightly chop a head of cauliflower and put it into the blender along with one cup of cream cheese, one cup of chicken broth, garlic powder and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Blend this mix on high for a few minutes until it's completely pureed. What you'll wind up with is a delicious and flavourful garlic mashed cauliflower side dish.
While some just love canned cranberry sauce, it's hard to argue against the fact that fresh cranberries are always better.
To make fresh cranberry sauce, all you need to do is combine two packages of fresh cranberries, the zest of one orange, 1/2 cup of sugar and one cinnamon stick in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens. This usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
Once it's cooked, remove the cinnamon stick and let cool before serving.
With one or more of these side dishes on your table, your delicious Thanksgiving dinner will be complete. Invite your family and friends (the more the merrier, right?!) good food with good company.
