Terri, I don't vary much from year to year on my Thanksgiving dinner. I tried the following recipe a few years ago for my sweet potatoes and we liked it so much, I've stuck with it.
Great dish to slide into the oven just as the turkey comes out.

Praline Apples and Sweet Potatoes

4 large sweet potatoes, cooked and peeled.
4 tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut in " slices
1 stick butter
1C brown sugar
½C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
1 C pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°.
Spray a 9X13 pan with non-stick cooking spray
Cut the sweet potatoes in 1" cubes and put into baking pan

Melt butter in a large skillet, over med. high heat. Add apple slices to the melted butter, saute about 5 min., just until the apples begin to soften. Sprinkle with sugars, spices and salt, continue cooking until sugars are melted and apples are cooked but still firm enough to hold their shape. Remove from heat and distribute evenly over the sweet potatoes.

Bake approx. 30 mins, or until heated through and bubbly around the edges.

The rest of the menu..... Turkey with Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Cranberry Orange Relish, Home Canned Pears with Cream Cheese Filling, Rolls, Brocolli and Pie (Pumpkin for sure and often Apple also).

Nancy

Thanks Nancy, that recipe sounds good.

Since we are going to do two..I'm going to go "conventional~ish" on the first one, and a bit more "new" on the second.

**Broccoli...i c I spelled it wrong up there! Guess I didn't do spell check...

Nancy

Terri: NO !!!!! Alway's the same. Some things may be Bigger or Smaller.
Except this year I'll have my Fluffly Cheesecake; which I have perfected to my taste, to add, for Dessert.
LOU

Lou, I suggest that you start shipping your cheesecake around the country..oh wait around the world...LOL

This Cranberry Orange chutney is very good and easy too; you could make this up and can or just make a few days ahead and keep chilled.

3 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup each raisins and currants
1 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 TB grated orange peel
1/2 to 1 1/4 cup orange juice
1 t. each salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves

Mix all in a large non-reactive pot (I use Le Creuset or my stainless pressure cooker). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low simmer - stir often - cook 20 minutes. Pour into hot, sterilized jars, seal, process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Store in a cool place. Makes 4-5 cups.

Good on turkey sandwiches and alongside the holiday bird along with regular cranberry sauce.

Note: I plan to use the larger amounts of orange juice next time as it seemed a little dry the last time I made this.

Teresa

Nancy, that's how I make sweet potatoes, in fact I made them tonight! They are like dessert, LOL
Lou, can you make a fluffy cheesecake in the shape of a turkey? Then we could have it for the main meal instead of dessert, LOL..
Teresa, I have never made a chutney with turkey, that sounds like a good recipe.
Terri, I am of no help...I have to perfect my buns for the burger cook off next week,,,they need a lot of work, too much fluffy cheesecake!
We have the trad things for Tgiving, nothing exciting to offer!

Thanks Teresa..My mom has to have her jellied cranberry sauce. GAG..but maybe if I make something like this she won't miss that nasty stuff?!

Terri, here's a jellied cranberry sauce that we have added to our Thanksgiving dinner the last couple of years.

Cranberry-Mandarin Orange Relish
Yield: about 6 cups
3/4 cup sugar
1-3/4 cup orange juice (or can substitute water)
1 bag fresh cranberries (12 oz.), rinsed and drained
2 cans mandarin oranges (11 oz.), drained
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces
Combine sugar and orange juice, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add cranberries and oranges, and simmer over low heat until skins of berries begin to crack, stirring occasionally.
Add raisins and simmer until raisins start to plump, stirring occasionally. Add walnut pieces and remove from heat.

Also, for a change we also added the following sweet potatoes. I sometimes cook, then peel, put in a baking dish and then add the pecan and marshmallow strudel.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Pecan and Marshmallow Streusel
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield: 12 servings
User Rating:

12 large sweet potatoes
3/4 cup (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted pecan pieces
1 cup miniature marshmallows
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Wash the sweet potatoes, scrubbing them well to remove any dirt. With a fork, prick the sweet potatoes in a couple of spots and place them on a sheet pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center goes in easily.
In a large bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, and flour together until it's crumbly-looking. Add the cinnamon, salt, pecans, and marshmallows; fold the streusel topping together to combine.
Slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise down the center and push the ends towards the middle so it opens up. Stuff the sweet potatoes generously with the streusel topping and return to the oven. Bake for another 20 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and brown.

We also like this version of a Waldorf salad.

WALDORF SALAD SUPREME
Printed from COOKS.COM
4 med. apples, coarsely chopped (4 c.)
2 med. stalks celery, chopped (2 c.)
1 (15 oz.) can pineapple chunks in syrup, drained
1 c. miniature marshmallows
1/3 c. chopped dates (optional)
1 c. mayonnaise or salad dressing
2/3 c. coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
Toss together apples, celery, pineapple, marshmallows, dates, mayonnaise and nuts. Serve on salad greens. Serves 8.

Would you believe....we have to have 3 kinds of cranberries with our holiday bird: 1) made from scratch cranberry sauce (for my BIL - who cooks the turkey every time) 2) the canned sauce for the "younger" generation and 3) relish and/or chutney for those of us who think you can't have too much cranberry what-ever for a feast!

Well I don't think cranberry is a requirement..Nor does the usual suspects at my dining table..but my Mother..she believes that you must have the jelled cranberry (without whole berries). But she also believes that serving applesauce with pork, will protect you from "buggies"......

Thank you for the round up of recipes Hiltonc.
I think I came across Tyler's recipe last year and looked at it a few times..

Terri, You're not celebrating Thanksgiving early.....you're celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. It is on the first Monday of October.

We usually go to a friends house for a huge turkey (they raise their own) and I bring a soup course. Last year it was a butternut squash with maple syrup.

janet

I must have jellied cranberry sauce from the can - I like to slice them and then cut into cute little shapes with a mini cookie cutter and put them on my bright harvest gold platter where I think they look as good as they taste :)
So there.

Kathleen I love your idea! That was funny!

Since last TG dinner was in the basement and from a temporary kitchen with no oven, this year is going to be my tradition Thanksgiving Dinner. Turkey and dressing, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Waldorf Salad, Cranberry Broccoli Salad, and Candied Yams. I might make a Chutney or two and dessert is still undecided but Sweet Potato Pie sounds good.

My furniture "might" be delivered by then but it is questionable. I'll be more creative for Easter Dinner!

This was posted on the Holiday Forum and I thought it was too cute!

Michelle

Terri, I must be related to your mom. I HAVE to have applesauce with pork, ( and ketchup on scrambled eggs!) and I, like, Woodie, eat the jellied cranberry sauce. Actually, I could take it or leave it, but we grew up with the jellied kind. My mom also made her sweet potatoes candied..rolled in sugar and cinnamon and sauteed in butter. AND, she had to have those durn creamed little onions. She was the only one who ate them...but they were a must! As she got older, we bought the Green Giant boil in bags for her..lol..
Michelle, I am sure you have something in all those jars of goodies to use with turkey. And it won't matter if your furn doesn't come, dress that table prettily, and serve up your loved ones good food, and it will be perfect!

Janet, I was thinking that Canadian TDay was around there..it's in kahootz with our Columbus Day isn't it?

Okay so we'll celebrate Canadian and US...LOL

I find jellied cranberry sauce from the can nasty..LOL It tastes like tin can to me..I don't need cranberry of any type, but one year a friend gave me some homemade that he canned..wow..now that was good stuff! It was really good on biscuits. LOL

Michelle, that's cute..I need to find my way back over to Holidays...right Kathleen?

The only thing I need for Thanksgiving is leftovers, for my leftover casserole..
So I must have turkey, gravy, dressing and mashed potatoes..and since I'm the only one in my immediate family that likes green peas, I just make sure I have a small bag in the freezer...Then I layer and make the best food for the next few days..I eat it 2x's a day until it's all gone. LOL

Terri: If you have a Ham, you could make a Pineapple sauce.
Do you need a recipe???
Lou

Gosh, I fell like the lone ranger. I don't always have the exact same menu for Turkey Day! We always have turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, but the sides always change! My sisters and I love to cook so sometimes we try out new recipes at the holiday meals. Some have been keepers, some not so much! None of us like sweet potatoes, so we never have them. I like cranberries, but that jelly stuff makes me gag, too. (And we won't even discuss that nasty green bean casserole that Tim loves so much!) LOL

Here are a couple of the keepers from past feasts:

Roasted Cauliflower with Fresh Herbs and Parmesan

12c cauliflower florets (about 2 heads)
1-1/2 T olive oil
1T chopped fresh parsley
2Tsp chopped fresh thyme
2tsp chopped fresh tarragon
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
2T fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Preheat oven to 450F
Place cauliflower in large roasting pan or jelly roll pan. Drizzle with oil, toss well to coat. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes or until tender and browned, stirring every 5 minutes. Sprinkle with herbs and garlic, bake 5 minutes. Combine cauliflower mixture, cheese and remaining ingredients in large bowl, toss well to combine. Yield: 8 servings, about 1 cup each

Wild Rice Corn Pudding Source: Emeril Lagasse 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 1 cup heavy or whipping cream 2/3 cup milk 4 ears sweet corn, blanched and kernels removed from cobs, about 3 cups corn 1 cup cooked wild rice 3 scallions, finely chopped or 1/3 cup finely chopped scallions 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/8 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg 1/2 tablespoon butter Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine egg, egg yolk, heavy cream and milk and whisk well to combine. Add all remaining ingredients except butter and mix well. Grease a 7 by 11 or 8 by 12\-inch casserole with the butter. Pour custard ingredients into prepared casserole and bake uncovered for 45 minutes, or until custard is set and golden brown on the top. Serve warm. My notes: Use a little less cayenne.

Cranberry Cake with Butter Sauce

1/4c butter
1/2c sugar
1c flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2c milk
1c whole cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour an 8x8 baking pan. Mix butter
and sugar in medium bowl. Add milk, flour and baking powder, fold in
cranberries. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce
oven heat to 350 and bake 20 minutes more.

Sauce

1/2c butter
3/4c sugar
1/2c heavy cream
Melt butter in small saucepan. Stir in sugar then add cream and bring to
slow boil for 20 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and serve
warm, spooned over individual slices of cake.

[](http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=10&imgid=209512290) Cranberry Walnut Tart Sweet pastry dough 3 large eggs 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar 2/3 cup light corn syrup 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/4 cups chopped fresh or frozen cranberries (7 oz; thawed if frozen) 1 cup chopped walnuts (1/4 lb) Special equipment: a 10\- to 11\-inch round tart pan (1 inch deep) with a removable bottom; pie weights or raw rice Make shell: Roll out dough into a 13\-inch round (1/8 inch thick) on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin and fit into tart pan. Trim edge of dough, leaving a 1/2\-inch overhang, then fold overhang inward and press against side of pan to reinforce edge. Lightly prick bottom of shell all over with a fork, then chill 30 minutes. Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until pastry is set and pale golden on rim, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake shell until pale golden all over, 5 to 10 minutes more. Transfer shell in pan to a rack. Make filling: Move oven rack to middle position and reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth, then stir in cranberries and walnuts. Pour filling into shell and bake tart until filling is set and golden, 40 to 45 minutes. (If pastry edge darkens before tart is done, cover edge with a pie shield or foil.) Cool completely in pan on rack. Cooks' notes: Tart can be baked 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature. For a more unusual presentation, you can make the tart in an 11\- by 8\-inch rectangular fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Makes 8 to 10 servings. Gourmet November 2003; originally published January 1991 My notes: Thanksgiving 2006, this is really good! Kind of labor intensive, but delicious!

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake
source: Betty Crocker

For the crust:
2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
For the filling:
4 pkgs. 8 oz. each cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumkin not pumpkin pie mix
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
Heat your oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 9 inch springform pan with shortening or cooking spray. Wrap foil around the pan to catch drips. In a small bowl, mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press crumb mixture in bottom and 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or till set. Cool 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with mixer on medium speed just till smooth and creamy, do not overbeat. On low speed, gradually beat in sugar. On low speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, just till blended. Spoon 3 cups of cream cheese mixture into pan over crust. Spread evenly.
Stir pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg into remaining cream cheese mixture; mix with wire whisk until smooth.Spoon over top of mixture in pan.
Bake 1 hour and 25 minutes to 1 and a half hours or till edges are set but the center jiggles slightly when moved.
Turn off oven; open door at least 4 inches. Leave cheesecake in oven for 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven; place on wire rack to cool. Without releasing side of pan, run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen the cheesecake. Cool in pan on wire rack 30 minutes. Cover loosely, refrigerate at least 6 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake again, carefully remove side of pan. Place cheesecake on a serving platter. Store cheesecake covered in fridge.

I had a photo of the pumpkin cheesecake, but must have deleted it from Picturetrail. will have to reload it.
Hope these give you some ideas if you're trying to make some changes this year!

Linda

Linda, Thank you..

I do do the "green" bean casserole, but I sub Winter Mix.

That Roasted Cauliflower I think will be perfect.

I made this last night with dinner and it's a keeper! The vinaigrette would also make an awesome salad dressing or even a marinade.

I've never had roasted beets before and they were delish!

Roasted Root Vegetables with Horseradish Vinaigrette

2 large sweet potatoes
4 large parsnips
6 med beets
3 T EVOO
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Peel potatoes and cut into cubes, peel parsnips and cut into slices, peel beets and cut into wedges. Toss potatoes & parsnips with oil, and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes & parsnips on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan and sprinkle w/ salt & pepper. Toss beets with oil in separate bowl and arrange on a separate cookie sheet/pan; sprinkle w/salt & pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 20 25 min or until tender. Cool before adding vinaigrette.

Horseradish Vinaigrette

1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/c cup EVOO
2 T horseradish
1 T chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 T tarragon (fresh or ½ T of dried)
1 T Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 ½ tsp honey
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Whisk together all ingredients. Serve immediately, or chill up to 4 days.

Lou, Ham isn't often served here..as much as I love it..Hubby doesn't care for it..
But please share your recipe..We love pineapple so I'm sure I could find a use for it.

gardengrl~Thank you, I love roasted beets! Mmm mmmm

Thanksgiving is just three weeks away here. I'll be having the whole famn damily up at the lake as per ususal. The other Usual thing will be the menu , it rarely changes, although I'm changing the veggies up a bit this year. We'll see if there are comments.

Turkey
Dressing
mashed potatoes
gravy
sol's cauliflower gratin
green beans with carmelized onions and almonds
baked beans
roasted squash or sweet potatoes
roasted beets
cole slaw
deviled eggs
relish tray
homemade rolls

Dessert is whatever my DSIL decides it is!

I'm seriously hoping we can take one last crusie and do appetizers on the lake but that is very iffy......

I love T-day!!!

Chase, I love Thanksgiving too, I get to cook and don't have to do one darned other thing except eat and be thankful. (Well, that and clean up my mess, LOL)

Terri, my menu never changes either. We always have turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade dinner rolls, Ocean Spray cranberry sauce (nothing else will do), the infamous green bean casserole that my girls love, Woodie's layered salad, sweet potatoes in some form and for dessert either pumpkin pie or pumpkin cheesecake and something chocolate. Lots of coffee and a large Mountain Dew for David. Oh, and a bottle of Heinz catsup which he puts on everything from the turkey to the mashed potatoes. He won't eat vegetables, LOL, so they are safe.

Annie

Our TG menu is cast in stone....you can add to it but don't even think about taking anything away. Yes, the GBC is on the list as well as yams/sweet potatoes with and without the marshmallows....and I'm another fan of the canned cranberry jell.

If you are doing two this year how about a Turduckhen. Thanks to last years fall swap and a great swap partner(Karen) my family enjoyed this. I'm not a fan of Duck but even my VERY pickey nephew liked this bird(s).

Here a few bad pics...LOL!

Out of the oven.

A bad sliced job.

Happy TG Terri....lots of options and good recipes here. I'm savin' them for myself and future dinners too.

David

Terri: The Pineapple Sauce is easy.

I dump a can of Crushed Pineapples in a Saucepan and start simmering.
Meanwhile put in:

1 cup of Orange Juice
2 tablespoons of Brown Sugar
A pinch of powdered Cloves and Cinnamon
2 Tablespoon of Maple flavored Pancake Syrup

Simmer the Pineapples until they are tender.
Give it a taste test and add whatever sugar or spices
to your own taste preference.

Thicken with 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch mixed in Cold Water.
Or more if needed.
I make it aweeter to use as a topping for Cheesecake.
LOU

Thank you Lou and David.