Turkey Day Ideas
Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t been posting on my normal schedule I have been cramming to get everything done before Thanksgiving! My next few posts are going to be taking about everything Thanksgiving and hopefully giving you guys some inspiration. Today, I wanted to share with you my 2 new favorite Thanksgiving dishes. I have never been a huge turkey fan (crazy I know) but I love Thanksgiving. So, I was always looking for fun dishes to make in addition to turkey. Pinterest as always is a helpful tool to have for creative new dishes, so both of these recipes I found on there. I also wanted to do something vegetarian because mostly everyone eats the turkey so more meat might’ve been a little much.
The first recipe is an appetizer that is so festive and fun, everyone loves it. A brie cheese dip with cranberries and biscuits, YUM! Brie cheese is one of my favorite fall ingredients and who doesn’t love cheese?? A dip is also a quick and easy appetizer to add to your menu. This one in particular is the easiest I’ve come across, and only features a few ingredients. So to start let me tell you what your going to need:
Supplies:
- A Pyrex pan, or cast iron pan (Round or square will work)
- A knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients:
- A round packaged brie cheese (Rind on)
- Dried Cranberries
- Garlic
- Can of regular biscuits (Or if your feeling ambitious homemade, I was too lazy this time)
- Butter
- Olive oil/Pam
- Salt & Pepper
This recipe is super easy to follow and you can add your own swing to a lot of it, so I didn’t include measurements because it’s whatever you want. Here are the steps to follow:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Spray pan with pam/olive oil.
- Cut the biscuits in half and roll into balls.
- Place the dough around the pan to form a complete perimeter.
- Melt some butter and brush it over the biscuits.
- Take out brie cheese and cut the top layer of the rind off but leaving it on the sides and bottom.
- Place the cheese in the middle of the biscuits.
- Bake for 20 minutes until cheese is melty and biscuits are starting to brown.
- Take out the pan, and stir in some of the cranberries, minced garlic (I used 1 clove), and salt & pepper.
- Place back into the oven for 10 minutes until done!
Once it’s out its best to serve right away while the cheese is hot. The biscuits are used to dip into the cheese and work so perfectly. The cranberries really shine in this dish and add a sweetness to the brie that is so nice. Having the bread around it makes it easy to serve and saves room on the table and in the oven which is great on any holiday. I just love this dish because of the ingredients it features and the functionality of it works so well!
The next dish is a little more hearty and perfect for someone who is vegetarian and still wants a good meal. I look at it as a side dish but it can be a staple of your Thanksgiving meal! Brussel Sprouts and Butternut Squash w/ pecans and dried cranberries. I love this dish too because it takes sweet and savory and mixes them so well to create a colorful dish to put out on the table. I take a few shortcuts in this dish but during the holidays that’s allowed of course. So what you’ll need here is:
Supplies:
- 1 or 2 Baking sheets
- Aluminum Foil
- A knife
- A spoon
- A tray to serve!
Ingredients:
- Brussel sprouts (Halved and trimmed)
- Butternut squash (Peeled and cubed)
- Handful of pecans (Halved)
- Handful of dried cranberries
- Maple syrup (2 Tbsp or more if you want it sweeter)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- Balsamic vinegar
- Salt & Peper
- Olive oil
There are a few more steps involved for this recipe, but I still think it’s fairly easy to add to the menu, even at the last minute! Again, all of this is based on preference and you can’t really mess up with how much of each ingredient you use because it’ll still taste great. To begin:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Depending on what vegetables you get (I get the pre-washed, pre-cut veggies (Hence the shortcuts)) wash and prepare brussels and squash.
- Place each into a medium sized bowl and season with salt and pepper, and a little olive oil.
- For the brussel sprouts, add a good amount of balsamic vinegar, enough to cover all of them. Then toss to coat.
- For the squash, add the 2 tbsp of maple syrup and 2 tsp of cinnamon. Toss to coat.
- Arrange veggies on baking sheets lined with foil and lightly sprayed with olive oil. (Can be placed on the same sheet, or different. Just depends on how much you are making)
- Bake for 20 minutes, flipping, then returning for another 10 minutes. (The brussel sprouts may look brown/burnt but that’s just the vinegar)
- Let cool for a little, then toss in a bowl with pecans and cranberries! (This is where you can add extra balsamic, or maple syrup depending on what your going for)
- Enjoy!
The colors on this dish are my favorite part. That is what makes this so festive and pretty to look at, but also the taste is amazing. I love that you can also make it your own and add things if you wanted. I have seen it wish goat cheese, walnuts, sweet potato, and this is just worked best for me! Experiment and find what ingredients work for you but a vegetable dish is always good to have at a holiday, to give some variety to the menu.
I hope you all enjoyed reading, and give some of these a try. Let me know if you would be interested in seeing some recipe videos on my youtube or instagram! Stay tuned tomorrow for another popular Thanksgiving post!
With love, Taylor
XOXO