Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

I add chopped apples and celery to mine... and use strawberry jello with fresh cranberries... I will be making my aunt Jennifer's cranberry salad tonight!

I know this salad from my wonderful Aunt. You can also soften a pkg. of cream cheese and blend in with cool whip before topping adding some pecans on top. It's sooo good!

Can you use fresh cranberries instead?

Mine is hot potato salad
5 lb bag of russet potatoes
16 oz sour cream
pack of green onions
shreded cheddar (I get the mixture of white cheeses and cheddar)
1 stick of butter melted
1 cup of milk (may need more)
salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes in jackets until potatoes or fork tender or burst open. Let cool peel and shred. Mix all ingredients with potatoes. It makes a lot you can freeze what is left. Believe me there probably want be any left.

Orange Whipped Salad

One small box of orange jello
One small box of vanilla pudding
One small box of tapioca pudding
One Large cool whip
Two large cans of mandarin oranges
Two cups of water

Take the two boxes of pudding and the jello and put them in a large bowl. Mix together. Boil the two cups of water, when boiling pour into the bowl with the pudding and jello. Mix well with a whisk and get all the lumps out. Then take the cool whip and put all of it into the bowl with the pudding and jello mixed. Mix all the cool whip until it's smooth. Drain the oranges and put them into the bowl with everything, stir and then place in the fridge to cool and set up for at least two hours before serving! Enjoy
Jennifer
Guthrie, OK

Found this in a magazine years ago & haven't seen it since.  Most people enjoy it more than we should!
Creamy Cheesecake
Double recipe: 9x13 (half recipe for 9" pie)
2 pkg 8 0z Cream Cheese
2/3 cup Lemon Juice
2 can  oz Sweet Condensed Milk (NOT EVAPORATED)
Mix well, pour into 9x13 graham cracker shell.  
Refridgerate until set, 4 hours minimum. Optional,
Top with Cherries or fruit of choice, ENJOY!
Best with homemade Crust!

Sweet Potatoe with Pecan Pie topping!

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter
.
Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans
Preparation:
Combine first 6 ingredients. Pour into a buttered 1 1/2 to 2-quart casserole dish. Mix remaining ingredients together and sprinkle over top. Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes, until hot and browned.
Serves 6 to 8.

Pumpkin Pancake Sweet Stacks

These things are amazing!!  Even the pickiest eaters love them!

Preheat griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat.  In large bowl, stir together 2 cups Bisquick, 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (more for thin batter), 1 cup mashed pumpkin (I use the canned pumpkin- you can also use sweet potato), 2 large eggs, and 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I use more because I love them sweeter!) until well combined.  

Spoon 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto the hot griddle, turn the pancakes over when the tops are covered with bubbles and the edges look cooked.  Serve with butter and warm syrup.  

HINT!!  It calls for 1/4 cup batter, but I have found that these cook up much better if you make smaller pancakes, I use about 2 tablespoons of batter per cake.

Here is my favorite.  I use to enter the local pumpking pie contest, this one won the blue ribbon two years in a row.  Enjoy.


Gingersnap Pumpkin Pie


1 3/4 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch


1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Combine cookie crumbs, granulated sugar, and melted butter in a 9 inch pie pan. Press into sides.
Bake for 5 minutes. Cool completely.
Combine pumpkin, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla, eggs, and milk. Blend with
wire whisk until combined. Pour into crust. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 1 hour. Let cool. Refrigerate to chill.

Corn Casserole

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 can corn
1 can cream of corn
1 stick maragine
1 egg
1 - 8 oz container sour cream

Mix together and put in a greased casserole dish.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour (until knife in center is clean)

tried this for the first time at a Thanksgiving feast at work and it was wonderful so I asked for the recipe. I'm going to make it for my family. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!!! Lori

My favorite dessert for Thanksgiving and Christmas is a Blueberry Banana Cream Pie.

1 8oz block of cream cheese
1 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 can of blueberry pie filling
sliced bananas
whip cream
graham cracker pie crust (deep dish)

combine cream cheese and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl and mix well until smooth. Smooth out the cream cheese and powdered sugar mixture in the bottom of graham cracker pie crust. Add sliced bananas on top of cream chesse. Pour pie filling on top of bananas. Top pie off with whip cream. Put in fridge and chill for 1 hour before serving.

Instead of using blueberries you can use other fruit pie fillings as well. I have used strawberry and apple before. Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy!!!

Patrick B.
Copperas Cove, TX

Taffy Apple Salad

Granny Smith Apples
Whipped topping
Crushed Pineapple
Peanuts (or any nut of your choice, i prefer walnuts or pecans)

Mix to taste.  Usually 1 bag of granny smith apples (or 10 apples) a small (6 oz) can of crushed pineapple, and 2 containers of frozen whip topping (thawed).

This was a hit last Thanksgiving, very tasty!

I got this recipe a few years ago out of a brochure and I have since "tweaked it"!  Sweet Potato Casserole:

2 large cans of yams
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar + add'l 1/2 cup
1/2 pecans + add'l 1/2 cup
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mash the yams and add the egg, brown sugar, pecans, maple syrup and cinnamon.  Pour into a baking dish then top with brown sugar and pecans to make a topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  I hope you like it - again you can tweak it here and there!  I'm a tweaker!!  Enjoy!

Note:  You can use fresh sweet potatoes but I use canned yams instead because it saves time.  

This isn't exactly a recipe, but if you stuff bacon under the skin of your turkey before you put it in the oven, it helps keep it moist. No more dry turkey!

Another GREAT cranberry dish that is sooooo good with that turkey:

1 12oz bag fresh cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 orange, zest grated and juiced
1 lemon, zest grated and juiced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Mix cranberries, sugar and water in a pan and cook over low heat until skins on most of the cranberries have split open (about 10-15 minutes). Then add the apple, zest and juice from orange and lemon. Stir well. Let simmer over low heat for additional 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in raisins and nuts if desired (I don't).  Chill over night.  ENJOY.

Mine is Dixie Salad I picked this from the wonderful people of Saint George Utah(known as Dixie)
Pomagrantes
chopped apples
raisins
pecans
heavy cream whipped
Just put eveything into a bowl
whip the heavy cream and fold into fruit
made from everthing that grows in Southern Utah

One of my family favorites is this scallop corn dish. When I was young my mom and grandmother made a scallop corn dish, very similar to this one. When I grew up and had a family of my own I found this recipe when my boys were all young and loved it even more. So now this is part of my traditional family favorites. My sons are all grown now and are attached to 3 wonderful young ladies and 1 grandson. When I make this recipe I think of my grandmother and mother with love. Hopefully my family will have the same fond memories when they celebrate Thanksgiving and create new family traditions along with some from me and my family.

Thank you KLOVE for all you do for so many. Have a blessed Thanksgiving with your families.

Scallop Corn
2 cans corn (drained)
1 can cream corn
1 package jiffy corn muffin mix
2 eggs
8 oz. sour cream

Spray baking dish with Pam. Pour all mixed ingredients in baking dish. Bake 350 for 1 hour.

My family wouldn't think it was a holiday without Hash Brown Casserole!

Hash Brown Casserole

2 lbs. frozen Hash Browns, thawed
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
½ c. Butter, melted
½ pt. Sour Cream
2 tsp. Salt                    
2 c. grated Cheddar Cheese
½ c. grated Onion

Mix and put into buttered casserole.  Top with mix:

¼ c. Butter, melted
1½ c. Corn Flakes, crushed

Bake at 350° for 45-60 minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Creamy Fruit Salad

3 large boxes of instant vanilla pudding
24 oz of cool whip
1 qt buttermilk (I know what you're thinking, but trust me, you can't taste it)
3 large cans of mandarin oranges
3 large cans of chunked pineapple
2 small bags of chopped walnuts

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Open oranges and pineapple and pour into a colander to drain.  

While the fruit is draining, mix pudding, buttermilk, and cool whip together.

Once the fruit has drained very well, add to the pudding mixture and add one bag of walnuts.

Pour into a dish and top with second bag of walnuts.  

I have a really good recipe for a pumpkin spice cake, the problem is, my husband is the only one who knows how to make it! I think you only need to make a spice cake and add a can of pumpkin. Top off with a cream cheese frosting. If you want to add crushed ginger cookies, it makes it a really good cake. Sorry if this wasn't very helpful, but this is the way I watch my husband make it!

Apple Cobbler
(topping can be used for any cobbler)

5-6 red delicious apples peeled and sliced
2 cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 sticks butter (I use parkay margarine)
cinnamon to taste

Peel and slice apples into 9x13 baking dish (ungreased).  Dust with cinnamon.  Mix flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Use your hands to mix in room temperature butter.  Mix until crumbly.  Spread topping over apples.  Bake in preheated oven for 45-60 minutes at 350 or until topping is golden brown and apples are bubbling.

Best served hot with vanilla ice cream on top.  

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Found this recipe and have been using it at parties ever since. If you like Jalapeno Poppers you'll love this!

Ingredients
-   16 ounces cream cheese, softened
-   1 cup mayonnaise
-   4 ounces green chilies, diced
-   4 ounces jalapeno peppers, diced and drained
-   1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cream cheese, mayo and peppers. Pour mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and brown. Serve with tortill chips.

*If you double the recipe you can put it in a 13x9 glass dish to bake.

We have an exceptionally nice young college intern who is working with our Special Education Dept. this year. She brought in the best salad I've had in a long time. Her name is Monique so when I wrote down the ingredients, I titled the recipe, "Monique's Salad" It is quick and easy to prepare.

"Monique's Salad"

Spinach Leaves
Green Onion (Chopped)
Cucumbers (Thick slices and quartered)
Black Olives (Sliced)
Orange Pepper ( Chopped) Green or Yellow pepper works.
Pecan Halves
Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Dressing: Any kind, however Monique chose Annie's Natural Health Food sugarless Seasame dressing and also Annie's Original. My husband usually isn't much of a salad eater, but he liked Monique's salad so well that he almost ate the entire salad himself.

Today is Sunday and I am finally getting to celebrate Thanksgiving with my son who works most holidays and my mother.  I made Lisa's Wonderful Cranberry Salad recipe last night, and just had a bit for breakfast to see if it's really that good.  It is!  I can definitely see the need for more pecans though.  Thanks for sharing Lisa - I think it's going to be even better once I get some whipped cream whipped for on top.  

Lisa,
I made your Aunt Linda's Wonderful Cranberry Salad. I had to substitute Strawberry Jell-O because that was all we had on hand, but it turned out perfect! It was a huge hit with me family! My son and husband have already requested it for next year. Thanks for sharing!

We have a ton of healthy holiday recipes on our blog www.touchedbynature.wordpress.com. Look for the Pumpkin Pudding recipe using sucanat in place of white refined sugar. Delicious! We are two moms on a lofty mission: change America's mindset about food...one pantry at a time.

Happy Healthy Holidays!

Naturally,
Ruth Ann Bowen
Co-Founder, Nurturing Naturally

ok, first I need to make a comment...people naturally gain about 5 pounds in the winter...it is their body's way of holding onto fat to help it keep warm.  Thanksgiving just aids our body in this.  EMBRACE the amazing food!

1 small package strawberry jello fixed in 1 cup boiling water
add 10 oz cut up strawberries (frozen are fine).  While still hot, stir in 1/2 small container of cool-whip.  
Add a banana after a little cool.  

Really pretty in a glass bowl, but the bananas tend to settle to the bottom...so you might have to stir a couple times till it starts to set.  

Curried Lima Beans
2 pkg lima beans- cook on simmer 10 min save water
1 cup chili sauce
2 teaspoon curry powder
1-10 oz can cream of mushroom soup
2 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoon brown sugar
cook beans in 1 cup water. Place all ingrediants including water into casserole dish and bake 1/2 hour at 350

They mentioned a recipe on the radio briefly this morning where you use oranges and onion in the turkey when you cook it. Does anyone know what the recipe is? Is it fairly simple? I'd ove to try it. Please post it if you know....I believe it was Kelly who mentioned it on the morning show.