It’s that time of year again. The holidays are approaching and it’s time to get your cooking on. We asked our readers to send in some of their favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes, and wanted to share a few with you. From hearty dressings, to sweet sauces, flip through the next few pages and mark which one you’ll make your new Thanksgiving treat. Don’t forget to check out our easy stuffing tricks for a hassle-free addition to your table this holiday season.
Lovey’s Turkey Giblet Cornbread Dressing (Stuffing)
Ingredients:
- Giblet packet from inside the turkey cavity, including neck
- 2- 3 stalks of very fresh, green celery
- 1 medium onion
- 2 sticks of butter
- 1 ½ – packages of prepared cornbread stuffing mix (about 21 oz)
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- Fresh parsley and rosemary
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
Remove giblet packet from inside the defrosted turkey, including the neck. Place giblets in medium saucepan, cover with water. Season with teaspoon salt. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1- 2 hours until meat from turkey neck is cooked and tender. Remove giblets from pan and cool. Reserve the cooking broth for dressing. When giblets are cool, chop all into very small pieces. Remove meat from the turkey neck, chop into small pieces, discard the bones.
While giblets are cooking, chop onion finely, and chop celery into small pieces. Coarsely chop parsley and sage and set aside.
Melt 1 stick butter into large frying pan keeping heat moderate so that butter does not brown. Sauté onion in butter until translucent. Add chopped celery and cook until almost tender. Add the chopped giblets and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add second stick of butter to onion, celery, and chopped giblets, and cook until melted. Add parsley and sage. Remove mixture from heat.
Empty bags of stuffing mix into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter / vegetable/giblet mixture to the stuffing mix and mix well coating the stuffing with the melted butter and dispersing the vegetables and meat throughout.
Add the giblet cooking broth to the stuffing mixture and mix well. Add the chicken broth a little at a time until dressing is moist, but not soggy. There may or may not be some chicken broth left over depending on independent tastes. If there is any left over, save it to add later if needed.
Turn completed mixture into a large, greased casserole dish and cover. Place in refrigerator until ½ hour before serving time. Place in oven at 350 for ½ hour until dressing is warmed. Take cover off 10 minutes before time is up to brown the top.
Joyce Wohlrab (Laurel Springs, New Jersey)
Cheesy Potatoes
Ingredients:
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 8 ounces reduced fat sour cream
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 30-32 ounces frozen hash brown potatoes with onions and pimento
- 3/4 Cup onion (may use green onion for color)
- 3/4 Cup grated sharp cheese
- 3/4 Cup grated Swiss cheese
- 1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Heat oven to 375°
Combine soup, sour cream, pepper, potato and cheeses all together in a large bowl. Put in a 9 x 13 pan and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
Cool for 15 minutes.
Dig in and enjoy!
Cecily Lamb (Harrisburg, PA)
Orange Bourbon Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 – 12 oz bag of whole fresh cranberries
- 1 cup orange juice (I’ve used both fresh squeezed and bottle – your preference)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2-3 tbsp bourbon (or to flavor)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
Instructions:
Rinse and remove any potentially spoiled cranberries.
Place into medium saucepan with sugar, cinnamon stick, and orange juice.
Bring to boil over medium/high heat.
Once most of the berries have started to burst, add bourbon and bring to a low simmer for 15-20 minutes.
During this process, add water as needed to loosen up sauce if you like.
Once it’s your preferred consistency, remove from heat and serve or cool depending on preference.
Optional: top with fresh orange zest.
Jamie Cameron (Hillsborough, NJ)