5 Favorites {no. 14} Thanksgiving Dinner Edition

I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is next week! Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year? Or bringing a dish to share? For today's edition of five favorites, I wanted to share some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes - beyond the turkey! {Linking up with Jenna - thanks for hosting!} {updated: linking up with Nell, too!}

This picture is from Thanksgiving 2012 - our first married Thanksgiving. I hosted my in-laws for Thanksgiving in NYC and made the meal. You can see pictures of my first two recipes in this picture - both are above the flowers.

{1} garlic mashed red potatoes // Michael requests these instead of traditional mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving. To make, cut red potatoes in half and boil until tender. {I love that you don't have to peel potatoes for this recipe!} Drain water from pot. Add ~1/4 stick of butter, 2-4 cloves minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Re-cover with lid to let butter begin melting. When ready to mash, pour in some half & half and beat with an electric mixer. Keep in mind that it's better to start with too little half & half and add more than to over-pour - it takes less than you might imagine to make creamy potatoes! Add more half & half if necessary and mix until potatoes reach desired consistency.

One other tip: try to keep the potatoes covered and hot until ready to serve. NOTE: These amounts are for one large pot of potatoes, but you can alter the amounts of butter, garlic and S+P depending upon how many people you are feeding. :)

{2} made-from-scratch stuffing // This is my mom's version of my grandmother's recipe. My mom knows how to make it by heart, so one Thanksgiving I watched her and wrote it down as she went. There's a printable recipe card at the end of this post if you are interested in trying this super delicious recipe. In my opinion, way better than the boxed stuff, and it's really not that difficult! Promise! TIP: Tearing the bread into one inch pieces is a great chance for kids to help. My sister and I always loved doing that part.

{3} not your average cranberries // Even if you think you don't like cranberries, you should try this recipe at least once. I actually like the canned whole cranberries, but this fresh recipe is an absolute delight. Michael never ate cranberries until I started making this recipe and now he loves them. Again, a printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post!

{4} pumpkin pie // Thanksgiving isn't complete without a slice of pumpkin pie (preferably with homemade whipped cream!). I shared this recipe last year. Hope you enjoy!

{5} dinner decor // So this isn't a recipe, but I love setting a beautiful table for any holiday. It's one of my very favorite parts. Click here to see the table details at our family Thanksgiving in 2013.

Do you have a favorite or traditional recipe for Thanksgiving dinner? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Most importantly, let us remember:

"In everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

{1 Thessalonians 5:18}

Click here to print.

Click here to print.

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