Mondays–V6E49–My Favorite Thanksgiving Sides

I have never been a big fan of turkey. I find most of it is too dry for my taste. But my son cooked his on the grill yesterday, and it was the best turkey I’ve ever eaten. It was so moist and flavorful. It was such a great family gathering. All my children and grandchildren were there, as well as some old family friends, and food abounded. My favorites are always the side dishes. As I said, I’m not a big fan of turkey, so I fill my plate with the rest of the stuff.

This year, I brought four dishes:

Pumpkin Oatmeal Dump Cake I first made this dessert for book club last month. It was a hit there and it was a hit yesterday too. My daughter reminded me twice to send her a link to the recipe.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls with Rice Krispies My older children’s grandmother used to make chocolate peanut butter balls every year for Christmas. I hadn’t thought of that when I made this candy but my daughter took one bite and and said “Oh my God, they’re as good as Grandma’s!”

Cornbread Casserole This cornbread casserole is really, really, good, but very rich. I think if I make it again (and I probably will, even though the Great Hunter has developed somewhat of an aversion to corn after his bout of Colitis last year), I will use half the amount of all the ingredients except for the corn muffin mix. It wasn’t like cornbread, it was more of a…well, a casserole. Lol.

Cranberry Almond Thanksgiving Slaw My first thought when I’d put all this together was, oops, I used too many red onions. I love red onions, but after learning the trick of soaking them before using them, I love them even more. I have started making pickled red onions using red wine vinegar and sugar, which I spice up my regular ham and cheese lunch sandwiches. Those, along with Bread and Butter Pickles, elevate a “blah” sandwich into something lunchworthy. All the flavors in this slaw recipe melded together wonderfully and the almonds gave it the needed crunch.