Thanksgiving Recipes and Turkey Day Tips

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!  Are you ready?  If you’d like to try some new Thanksgiving recipes this year or are in desperate need of a few tips to get you through the crazy days of cooking and baking, look no further!  I’ve rounded up some tasty recipes for you and at the end of the post I have a couple of infographics to help alleviate the stress of the holiday and allow you to enjoy your time with loved ones.

When I host Thanksgiving, or any big meal for that matter, I like to have an appetizer on hand for guests so they don’t get too hungry before dinner is ready. Cranberry Relish Crostini from Carolyn’s Homework is the perfect starter to whet the appetite.

 

Soup is the first dish to be served for a formal dinner. If you want something light, consider serving Italian Vegetable Soup.

 

If you’d like a richer, more flavorful soup, you might opt for colorful Roasted Carrot and Fennel Soup.

 

Salad typically comes next in a formal dinner, however, Europeans serve salad after the main entree. I love my grandmother’s Vinaigrette Salad Dressing. It has a sassy sweet and sour vibe to it.

 

I don’t know about your family, but my crew always has to have warm rolls at dinner. This year I made these cute Pumpkin Bread Rolls with cinnamon butter. This photo shows the rolls I made; I found the recipe at Handle the Heat.

 

The star of any Thanksgiving table is the respected and somewhat feared turkey. I think everyone has a turkey horror story and turkey hotlines are available on Thanksgiving Day to handle any mini crisis in the kitchen. I’ve found I get the moistest meat when I brine the turkey. It’s not as scary as you think and now we always brine our turkeys.

 

Next up are all the side dishes for your revered bird. We all have our favorite Thanksgiving recipes for side dishes to serve every year, but it’s always fun to try something new. I found this Red Potato Cauliflower Mash from Peas and Crayons to be a fun twist on mashed potatoes. The best part? It’s made in a crock pot, freeing up a stove burner for another dish.

 

A classic side dish and a staple at every Thanksgiving table is stuffing … or dressing. If you cook it inside the bird, it’s called stuffing. If it’s prepared outside the bird, it’s called dressing. Unless you live in the South, in which case it’s always referred to as dressing (my southern friends can correct me if I’m wrong … but that’s what the internet says).  Tidy Mom has a fantastic recipe for Slow Cooker Dressing.

 

I always like to have at least one green vegetable on the dinner table. I found two recipes that fill the bill. First up is Green Beans in Shallot Butter by Julie Blanner. These are super easy to make and are a great option if you don’t like the extra calories found in a creamy green bean casserole.

 

Another healthy option is Roasted Brussel Sprouts by Suburban Simplicity.

 

When I took Home Economics in Junior High, I remember our teacher reminding us to add a bit of color to our menu. Carrots are the perfect vegetable to accomplish this goal. A simple recipe is Honey Glazed Oven Roasted Carrots by Tots Family.

 

If you want to serve a colorful fall vegetable as one of your Thanksgiving recipes, give Garlic Herb Butternut Squash from Healthy Seasonal Recipes. Butternut is my all-time favorite of the squash family. It’s slightly sweet and the garlic provides a subtle contrast.

 

Do you like root vegetables? You might want to serve Easy Roasted Root Vegetables from Cook Eat Paleo.

 

And now it’s time to talk about dessert!  In my household, Thanksgiving wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. And in my kitchen, I always make Pumpkin Pie from Scratch.  Sometimes I don’t make the crust from scratch, but the filling is always made from a pie pumpkin. It’s so easy and so worth it!  You can definitely tell the difference.

 

If you’d like to try something a little less traditional, consider serving Sweet Potato Spoon Bread. I love this stuff!

 

Once you’ve cleared your table of your mouth-watering Thanksgiving recipes, there’s the issue of what to do with all the leftovers. Never fear!  Turn your turkey, stuffing, and vegetables into a light and flavorful Turkey Stuffing Dumpling Soup!

 

As promised, here’s the infographics with 10 Thanksgiving tips and tricks to survive your big holiday meal. A special thanks to Big Chill for providing these Thanksgiving survival tips.  You can download the full Thanksgiving infographic here.

I wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!!