Thanksgiving Side Dishes

I love my family's version of fried squash.

While squash isn't exactly in season in the fall, we can usually still get some that's pretty decent.

We slice it up with onion and boil it until it's completely soft. Then we drain it and try to get out as much water as possible. Throw some bacon grease in a pan (non-stick works best) and toss in the squash. Cook out the remaining water until it reaches the dryness you want. I like to not stir too frequently because I like to have some brown bits in mine.

Or you can do roasted acorn squash or some other type of squash casserole.

We do a broccoli rice casserole and sometimes a awash casserole. I am not home right now, but if anyone is interested,let me know and I am will post, this evening.

Broccoli Rice Casserole
•
• 2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
• 2 cups Cooked Rice
• 2 cup shredded Spicy Velveta (options – 2 cup cheddar cheese or 2 cup plain Velveta
• 2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup (or you use 1 can each cream of chicken and cream of mushroom)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 TBLS Butter

Directions:
1. Cook onion in butter in large skillet until done.
2. Add remaining ingredients, using ONLY 1 Cup of the cheese, and cook just until cheese is melted.
3. Put in 2 quart casserole dish. Top with 1 cup of cheese.
4. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
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San Antonio Squash Casserole
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups yellow onion, diced
4 pounds yellow squash, sliced 3/8 inch thick
8 ounces Velveeta, cut in 3/4 inch cubes
1 cup cream of celery soup (undiluted)
1 cup green chiles, diced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 14-inch pan, saute onion in butter. Add squash and cook until slightly softened. Squash will release a lot of water, which must be drained. Mix squash and onion with cheese, soup, and green chiles and place in oiled casserole dish. Cover with bread crumbs and bake about 30 minutes or until hot throughout. Garnish with parsley and serve. Makes 10 big servings.

how about some cheesy corn bread, or some olive bread? we love stuffed mushrooms. veggie casserole, corn on the cob,

I make a special cranberry sauce that we LOVE! It's super easy and super yummy!

1 can whole cranberry sauce
1/2 cup strawberry preserves
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup coursely chopped toasted walnuts
1 tablespoon balsalmic vinegar

Combine first four ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in walnuts and vinegar. Chill in fridge for a few hours or overnight. Delicious!!

Please let me know if you try it. This is my first time to share a recipe on here! Go Me!! : )

We have pot luck family gatherings and I always bring an ooey gooey mac and cheese. This year I was "informed" that I "just had to" make it for Thanksgiving. The recipe is simple. I start with a basic white sauce and add whatever cheese I have in the house. Usually it's a mix of cheddar's, swiss, monterey jack and/or colby. I have been known to also toss in american and even cream cheese. And if I'm feeling really adventurous I get this maple brown sugar ham from the deli and cube it into maybe 1/2 inch squares and toss that in too. Mmmmm yummy. Can't wait till next week :)

This is my favorite homemade cranberry sauce and beats the heck out of the canned stuff! It's really easy and is great leftover. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cranberry-sauce-extraordinai...

If you're feeling adventurous, you can put in a sliced, fresh jalapeno to give it some kick.

We love corn pudding in our house! Paula Deen has a good one. www.foodnetwork.com

Carrot Souffle'. Even people who don't care for carrots love this.

1 lb. Carrots - peeled - sliced
½ cup Melted butter or margarine
3 eggs
½ cup Sugar
3 tbls. Flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Vanilla

Cook carrots until tender in small amount of boiling salted water. Drain. Combine carrots and butter in blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Blend well.

Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 1 quart casserole, souffle’ dish or 9" pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until firm.

6 servings (If you double it, it fits into a standard souffle' dish perfectly. Bake for about 1 hour, checking that the center is firm.)

apple & pear compote

just throw some butter and brown sugar into a pot, add in chopped apples and pears and some cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. Cook it low till it breaks down but leave it so you have some whole pieces still. DELISH. (Sorry I don't measure too carefully...)

Also pumpkin soup is very yummy.

Corn bread dressing (we don't really do stuffing down here, yes there is a difference) , Green bean casserole , Sweet potato casserole. Cranberry sauce.
You can pretty much get the recipes or ones close to them on allrecipes.com