Great Thanksgiving Dishes

Today I am sharing my unexpected, great Thanksgiving dishes, that will not disappoint on flavor this season.

This season I spoke a lot about bringing Great Thanksgiving Dishes to the table for your holiday menu. This year it may all be about the quality not necessarily the quantity, so you may want to focus on impactful flavor, in all your dishes and fun flavor pairings. Today I am share a few of our favorites including the Cran Cherry Couscous Stuffing which I just featured in our Amaizing Grace Tablescape over the weekend.

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5 from 7 votes

Cran Cherry Couscous Stuffing

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Morrocan, Southern

Keyword Air Fryer, Bacon, couscous, Instant Pot, pecan, squash

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Jennifer

Equipment

• Instant Pot 3 Qt. Mini ( can be doubled for a larger 6 Qt. Pot)
• Air Fryer

Ingredients

• 2 Delicata Squash Halved, Seeded
• 3 tbsp Rosemary Infused Olive Oil 1 tbsp for squash, 2 tbsp for couscous
• 2 cloves Garlic Minced
• 1 medium Vidalia Onion Diced
• 2 cups Israeli Couscous
• 4 tbsp Thyme, Fresh removed from stems
• 2 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
• 5 oz Ocean Spray Cran Cherries
• 5 oz Applewood Bacon Pre Cooked, optional
• 3 oz Pecan Pieces, optional
• 1 cup Shaved Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Lemon Zested, Juiced

Instructions

• Halve your delicata squash and light season with salt, peper and a drizzle of olive oil. Roast in your Ninja Air Fryer at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Check half way through to make sure they are not over cooking or burning.
• Add 2 tbsp olive oil in Instant Pot on the saute setting.
• Add in your garlic, onion and Israeli couscous with a pinch of salt. Stirring until onions are softened and couscous is lightly toasted 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in 2 1/2 cups of stock, thyme, lemon juice and zest and cranberries.
• Seal and set you Instant Pot to cook at manual high pressure, for 8 minutes.
• Quick vent and stir in your cream cheese, bacon, and pecan halves immediately.
• Place stuffing into the roasted halves of the delicata squash and top with Parmesan cheese.
• Bake at 390 degrees for 10 minutes in the Ninja Air Fryer.
• Reserve any extra couscous to make a serving bed for the stuffed squash, keep warm in your Instant Pot until the squash are done baking.

Another one of my Great Thanksgiving Side Dishes which is perfect to bring to the table is my Butternut squash Soup. Now whether you serve this on the day of Thanksgiving or with your Turkey sandwich leftovers, this recipe is truly a keeper. It pairs perfectly as a soup and sammy combo or soup and salad combo for a lighter meal option, and is calorically helpful this time of year. Check out my Butternut Soup recipe here for the details.

My Corn Fritters are an unexpected way to celebrate the holidays as well. These are nice since traditionally we see a lot bread stuffings and such at Thanksgiving. These spicy little Corn Fritters are a cross between a traditional cornbread and a southern style, Johnny Cake with the addition of whole corn or maize inside, to give it a hearty fritter consistency.

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5 from 6 votes

Southwestern Corn Fritters

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican, Southern

Keyword Corn, Fritter

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 6 people

Author Jennifer Gainer

Equipment

• Cast Iron Skillet
• Ice Cream Scoop

Ingredients

• 1 26.8 Corn Drained
• 2/3 cup Water
• 2 tbsp Taco Seasoning
• 1/4 cup Cilantro Fresh, Chopped
• 2/3 cup Tempura Mix
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet
• Add 1 ice cream scoop of batter to pan cook until golden brown and crisp, 2-4 minutes per side.
• Using a slotted spatula, transfer fritters to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain excess oil. Season with a pinch of sea salt to taste.
• You may need to cook fritters in batches. Lower heat if fritters are browning too quickly.

Of course this post would not be complete if I did not list both of our Thanksgiving Day staples our Cornbread Stuffing with Toasted Pumpkin Seed and my super easy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese recipe which went completely viral last year. I think it may have ended up on everytable in Georgia last year, and I heard about how good it was for months after the fact, which is a testament in itself.

DID SOME SAY LEFTOVERS?

Just one final thought about leftovers, because we all have them. This is what I decided to do with mine this year, I made Poutine pronounced (poo teen). I have been craving it ever since we visited Montreal 8 years ago, so I decided to make my own version with our leftovers. Really all you need is some good cheese curds, which I love, thank you Publix! Smoked meat, fried potatoes or french fries and brown gravy. While this is not exactly calorically sound, or found on any keto diet, it sure is good.

I also did a post last year on how to make Leftover Savory Hand Pies, which are pretty tasty as well. This one was a cranberry, turkey, cheddar melt which was so good, stuffed into a pie crust. You can see the full recipe at my link above.

COCKTAILS

I also keep getting asked about my favorite little cocktails for Thanksgiving, and while we can really just go with a nice simple glass of bourbon or maybe a nice wine. We do have a few fun ideas for a treat, so to speak if you looking for something  a little more festive. One of our all time favorites is the Pumpkin Pie Martini which is really more of a dessert. We also love the simplicity and flavor profile of my Blackberry Sage Moscow Mule. These are so easy to drink and can be made by the pitch similar to a Sangria, so serving is super easy if you are have a few more adults. Cheers to the holidays, and stay safe everyone!

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