I never thought about cole slaw for Thanksgiving, though I like it. I sometimes do gingered yams (mash a roasted yam and grate fresh ginger into it), but they're not a favorite, even though they're good. I am just not really into yams or sweet potatoes.

My mother at 89 years old still makes the dressing for our family dinner. I do the mashed potatoes and the gravy. Other relatives bring veggies and desserts.

Dressing with a little turkey on the side.
Dressing with a lot of ham on the side.
Dressing with some mashed potatos on the side.
Dressing with some gravy over it.
Dressing with a bite of cranberry sauce (oxylates, ya know).
Dressing with a couple of deviled eggs on the side.

I'm usually not much of a bread person, but homemade dressing is different. I will eat my weight in that s**t if I don't exercise enormous self control.
And at Christmas I do it again.

I make pretty traditional gravy (though I strain the giblets, instead of chopping them up), but I like a lot of it, so I supplement it with the dry gravy mix. Since it's full of drippings and broth, you can't really tell.

If I have a guest who needs to go gluten-free, I save out drippings and broth and make some gravy using cornstarch.

Our family likes hot turkey sandwiches the day after - a slice of bread, gravy, turkey and mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing on top with more.....gravy! Because there aren't enough carbs in just one of those things, we need the bread and the potatoes and the stuffing!

you cant have Thanksgiving without it. You need it for the turkey, mashed potatos, and dressing….with a little extra to be sopped up with the rolls. Make lots of it!

And anyone bringing out the jarred shit, should be banned from Thanksgiving.

celery, and homemade yeasty buttery rolls. I like lots of other sides, too. They are my favorite part of the dinner. 🧡😊

w/butter and maple syrup.

Real succotash (Corn and butterbeans!)

and of course Stuffing and loads of extra dressing!

and easy

Halved cleaned and face -up
baked at 400F Oh heck! Here!

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

This Maple Roasted Butternut Squash recipe has only 5
minutes of preparation and ready in about 1 hour. It is an
easy and delicious side dish to have for dinner with cinnamon,
nutmeg, butter, and maple syrup to make it aromatic and
delicious for Fall and beyond. (w/ dairy-free option)

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash, halved w/ seeds removed (organic, if possible)

¼ teaspoon kosher salt per half of butternut squash

a sprinkle of ground nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon per half of butternut squash

sprinkle of cinnamon, (I recommend Saigon cinnamon), ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon
on each half of butternut squash depending on how much cinnamon you
prefer and how large the butternut squash is

6 tablespoons unsalted butter or same amount coconut oil, if dairy-free
(evenly divide 3 tablespoons for each side)

drizzle of organic maple syrup, about 2 tablespoons per side of butternut
squash (you can substitute about 4 teaspoons of brown sugar in place of
the maple syrup)

for serving: salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste


Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut Butternut squash in half. Remove seeds. Lay the halves, flesh
side up, in an oven-safe baking dish. Sprinkle a small amount of
nutmeg, cinnamon, kosher salt, 6 tablespoons of butter (3 on each
side), and drizzle some maple syrup.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until the butternut squash can be poked
with a fork and is tender. If it is not done after 1 hour, leave in another
15-20 minutes until done.

Remove from oven when it's done, allow to cool a few minutes, and
serve with your meal.

Add any more kosher salt or pepper to taste at the serving. Enjoy!


https://www.lifeslittlesweets.com/maple-roasted-butternut-squash/

Never had dressing with sausage - sounds yummy!
Mashed potatoes.

With my extended Greek-American family they'd often make lamb which I love! Especially with orzo (a double pointed pasta) in the pan! Yuuum!

We love it at our house.

Pretty much this recipe, but I cut WAY back on the sugar. A scant 1/4 Cup is almost too much..
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/21463/carrot-souffle/

Last edited Sat Nov 15, 2025, 06:14 PM - Edit history (1)

In edit: I tried three times to spell McCord’s and got it wrong each time.

Sounds odd, tastes good.

We always have canned and homemade cranberry sauce because some like the jellied stuff, and I was trying to decide what my favorite side dish is, but none of it tastes as good without the homemade cranberry sauce, imo.

really liked it. I liked it too.

I have never cared for cranberry sauce but as you see there are plenty of other items I do like...now I'm hungry.

Tater tots
Macaroni and Cheese.

Stuffing
Gravy
Candied sweet potatoes
Cranberry sauce
We always throw a green vegetable in there for a balanced meal - not green bean casserole though.
Maybe I'll try that this year....hmmm.

I use my mom's 1940's Meta Givens cook book recipe for the corn fritters.
Sometimes I think people show up just for those.

Something different to try...

switch every other year. But I will stay with coleslaw this year. I was the only one eating the green beans.

Mmmmmmm

With whipped cream on the top.

I know, some people don't like green bean casserole, but I love it. I could eat real mashed potatoes all day!

one that liked them in my house. Enjoy my friend.

My aunt made oyster stuffing most Thanksgivings.

Cranberry sauce next. It isn't Thanksgiving without it.

Deviled eggs.
hot dinner rolls
my niece's stuffed poblano peppers. The stuffing is ground beef, walnuts and Mexican spices. She's Mexican so they are authentic.

and for at least a week after thanksgiving sliced turkey on rye with ocean spray cranberry sauce.

sammies.

it's doesn't taste as good and it's too dry

mashed and baked in orange cups.

Mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, green bean casserole, yeast rolls. Yummy.

Mom would roll the dough out and make knots. It's the only time of year she baked bread and the house always smelled wonderful.

mash together. Then I put the mix back in the whites. Sprinkle with paprika.

not exactly holiday food, but so tasty. And when boxty is on the table all of the fancy food goes further.

I will link the recipe and video...a food network find actually....

everyone requesting these carrots at all holiday family meals.

video and recipe here:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alexandra-guarnaschelli/brown-sugared-carrots-recipe-2012570

try making them this year.

My mother used to prepare the meal. One year, the stuffing had bits of eggshells in it. One year, the stuffing was so dry it stuck to the roof of my mouth so the next year she overcompensated with the liquid and it was wet and soggy. The following year, and from then on, it was perfect. Bless her heart, she could never coordinate it so everything came out at once. I remember getting the mashed potatoes when we were almost finished.

It was all good though. Thanks, Mom, for all your hard work.

can never get it together either. May the memories.be a blessing to you.

My mother-in-law in Wisconsin used to make these every year