Happy Thanksgiving Season!
I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving! It’s my favorite holiday of all. I’m unsure if it was the excitement of getting dressed up and going to my grandparents to see relatives we rarely saw as a child, the warm air in the house while delicious food was baking, getting to have multiple rolls and butter for dinner, the relaxation of kicking back and watching football, the opportunity to go to grandma and grandpa’s family room downstairs and hang with my older cousins and siblings, or all of the above that made me fall in love with it. But, I just have the best warm fuzzies thinking about Thanksgiving.
I usually host Christmas for my family, but once I hosted Thanksgiving and it just fulfilled my Enneagram 7 heart!
As an adult I still love the amazing food, the family time, the football, the warm house, and the fellowship around the table. Plus, I absolutely love the release of any pressure to do gifts.
I actually love giving gifts. But, I always feel so awkward getting them. And as I’ve identified as an empath for years I feel the stress around gift giving in events. It creates a tension I can feel and don’t love to be a part of. And I feel a lot of stress surrounding others at Christmas time. It takes away from the celebration of any holiday for me.
But, Thanksgiving… it’s warm and wonderful. Plus- our youngest daughter came into this world and completed our little family on a Thanksgiving Day!
Obviously one of the greatest parts of holidays is traditions. The old family recipes that are tried and true and bring back years of nostalgia are the best. But, creating new traditions and adding a kick to the menu is fun, too!
Plus, the pick up of Friendsgiving traditions gives a fantastic opportunity to try new recipes for the holidays.
In this post I’ll share a few new recipes to give a go this holiday season!
Cornish Game Hens
We did this the year we had our Sloan on Thanksgiving, actually. It was a scheduled C-section and so I made a little mock Thanksgiving meal the day before. We made a couple of these with mashed potatoes and gravy and it was perfect. This recipe from Spend With Pennies is a great option!
Pomegranate and Pear Spinach Salad
This salad from Cooking Classy was a hit when I made it for a fall event. So pretty with the pears, the deep green of the spinach and the red of the pomegranate. And so tasty!
Turkey Meatballs and Gravy
Another great Friendsgiving idea or a dish for a small Thanksgiving where a whole turkey would just be too much. You can make your own homemade turkey meatballs (my recipe is in this post) or you can even buy them premade in many frozen food sections. So simple!
Savory Sweet Potatoes
I spent a lot of my life thinking I didn’t even like sweet potatoes. But, then I had them cooked savory. And wow! Life changing. You can do a whole one sheet meal like pictured here, or just savory sweet potatoes like this recipe from JZ Eats. (I like to use melted coconut oil on mine instead of olive oil.)
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Again, you can make these sweet potatoes savory and just completely change the sweet potato game! Here’s a great recipe from Erin Lives Whole.
Roasted Root Vegetables
What a yummy addition to the table. This recipe from Easy Dinner Ideas is a great one. I really like to add green apples to mine!
Roasted Asparagus
Have trouble getting your kids to eat their veggies? I can almost always get my kids to break for some seasoned and roasted asparagus. And what a delicious addition to the Thanksgiving table. Here’s a recipe from Eat Well 101 that would be perfect!
Spicy Stuffing
If you’ve seen many of my recipes before, you know I love my spice. I bet just about any spicy stuffing would be a hit in my book, but my mom makes a Chorizo stuffing that is a favorite at the table every year. Although this isn’t my mom’s recipe, this one from Belqui’s Twist looks like it would be amazing also!
Pumpkin Risotto
We can’t leave a nontraditional pumpkin recipe off the list! How about this amazing pumpkin risotto from The Original Dish?
Okay… let me know what ones you try or what some of your favorite nontraditional Thanksgiving dishes are!