Thanksgiving Sides Roundup

I saw a t-shirt the other day that said, “I’m just here for the sides” and I felt like it should be mine! Thanksgiving is all about the sides for me. I could honestly do without the turkey…shhhhhhhh don’t tell anyone, but it’s true. Give me allllllll the potatoes, rolls, stuffing, veggies, sweet potatoes, salads and gravy!! And the pie…always save room for a slice (or 5) of pie! But that’s a whole different post! So here’s a roundup of all our favorite Thanksgiving sides…

Potatoes

Let’s start with the potatoes. Are you a classic mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving person? Or do you like to mix it up? We have recipes for roasted potatoes, baked potatoes, and several cheesy potato casseroles. No matter which way you want to potato, we have you covered!

Mashed Potatoes

This is your classic, creamy mashed potato recipe that is buttery and totally irresistible! Topped with some turkey gravy and you’ve entered turkey day euphoria!

Steakhouse Smashed Potatoes

These masked potatoes have a little texture to them so we call them “smashed potatoes”. We leave the skins on and leave the potatoes a little more chunky.

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Creamy Sausage and Peppers over Mashed Potatoes

Typically, you see creamy sausage and peppers over pasta, but we are going to blow your mind with it served over creamy mashed potatoes!

This recipe is inspired by our whole wheat penne sausage and peppers. I had a little cream left in the fridge that I tossed into the sauce, and I loved the extra richness that the cream added! 

We were in the middle of moving at the time and my kitchen was half packed. When I went to grab the penne, all my pasta was already packed, but my potatoes were still sitting in the pantry. I figured, why not?! And we absolutely LOVED the change in carb! I mean, you can’t go wrong with mashed potatoes!

What Do I Need For Creamy Sausage and Peppers?

I love a quick dinner recipe with simple ingredients! Here is your grocery shopping list with a quick explanation of each ingredient. I find it so helpful to get a little snapshot of what I’m going to need for a recipe before getting into all the details!

• Italian Sausage Links – you can get mild, sweet or spicy depending on what flavor you prefer
• Green Peppers –  remove the stem and seeds and slice into thin slices
• Red Pepper – remove the stem and seeds and slice into thin slices, red peppers are a little sweeter than green peppers so they add another dimension of flavor
• Yellow Onion – we prefer a yellow onion, sliced thin
• White Wine (cooking white wine) – we don’t drink alcohol so we cook with cooking wine, but feel free to use whichever you prefer, you can also use chicken broth if you don’t want to use wine at all
• Fire Roasted Tomatoes – adds a tiny bit of heat and so much flavor to the sauce
• Tomato Paste – a 6oz can, any brand works, just choose your favorite
• Tomato Sauce – an 8oz can, any brand works, just choose your favorite
• Water – thins the sauce out a little and helps blend on the ingredients together
• Italian Seasoning – a dried seasoning blend that you can buy at the grocery store that usually includes dried basil, dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried thyme and dried marjoram
• Sugar – enhances the flavors
• Salt – adds flavor
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Southern Macaroni and Cheese [+ Video]

When we think of macaroni and cheese we always think of Grandma Carol’s ultimate comfort food, her cheesy Southern Macaroni and Cheese!

It’s so nice when we get to go back to the Carolinas to visit family; we wish we could go more often. There’s so much history there, and we love to see it all. As much as we love to visit all the places, we can’t wait to get together with family for some good old family food favorites and great chats. When we get together with Grandma Carol and Grandpa Lou, it is a sure bet that one of the dishes will be macaroni and cheese and that not one morsel will be left in the dish at the end of the meal.

We

Brown Butter Spaghetti Squash Recipe

Tonight was “see-what-you-can-make-for-dinner-with-whatever-is-in-the-fridge” and this brown butter spaghetti squash recipe was the result. It is seriously one of my absolute must-haves for fall! Buttery squash with a hint of nuttiness from the pine nuts and savory goodness from the squash, gosh it’s good!

You could easily substitute any veggies or meat that you like-or leave the meat out for a vegetarian meal.

When I was younger one of my friends decided to be a vegetarian. I was shocked! I grew up in a meat and potatoes home. My mother was from Idaho and my father from Oregon so we ate meat with every single dinner. That was the farm way. It was not however her way. I didn’t understand what a vegetarian was really other then you didn’t eat meat. That was enough to stop my inquiries as who could possibly eat dinner without meat? I don’t think it was a nutritious decision at all either.

As soon as she went vegetarian she also went overboard on the candy. No joke. She wouldn’t eat meat so she ate quite the plethora of candy instead. Whaaaaa? I think she missed the boat there a bit, but I’m quite certain she is back to meat eating. And even if she wasn’t, I’ve personally discovered that eating vegetarian for a few meals a week is actually quite awesome. Our bodies actually love the whole “meat sparingly” concept. Fancy that. 😉 We have several plant based and vegetarian recipes on the blog now, and they are some of my favorites!

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Ranch Melt in Your Mouth Baked Chicken Recipe

Buckle up and get ready for the best chicken recipe of your entire life! It is buttery, ranchy, and smoky with a crunchy panko topping. You’re going to be making this one over and over again!

Just 8 days before moving to a new city I decided to throw together a quick and easy chicken recipe for dinner that I honestly wasn’t even thinking about what I was doing. I was just trying to finish off things in the fridge, freezer and pantry as that’s always how I move- stop buying food and eat through as much as possible so I have less packing. 

Which means I created a killer chicken dinner recipe. 

UGH.

That’s always how it goes, when I’m not thinking and just playing in the kitchen the best recipes emerge. 

Thankfully I had enough thought after hearing Cade say for the 500th time that night, “THIS CHICKEN JUST MELTS IN MY MOUTH! It’s awesome!!!” to pause what I was doing and write it all down in my phone. 

This week I finally busted out the recipe and made magic happen again and I stand by this recipe until the end of time, it’s just that good! 

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