Thanksgiving is this week! If you are in charge of making a side dish, no sweat, girl. I got you. I am sharing not one, not two, but FIVE Mamaw-style side dishes that are easy to make and that everyone will love. I’m talking about home cooked, made-with-love recipes with ingredients you can find anywhere, easy cooking directions, and just plain GOOD FOOD that makes great leftovers.
These are my PERSONAL recipes that I am making for my own Thanksgiving dinner. They’re also great for pot lucks, and Sunday dinner. Two more great additions would be some Perfect Boxed Cornbread or a Brown Sugar Apple Pie. I’ll share each one of these recipes individually over the next two weeks to give you the step by step instructions and a little background into each one. For now, let’s just get down to it!
Are you ready? Grab some mixing bowls, a few 9 x 13 baking dishes and let’s go to work!
Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole
INGREDIENTS
1 package (26 oz.) frozen shredded potatoes
1 stick butter, melted
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 container (16 oz) sour cream
1/2 c. coarsely chopped onions
2 c. shredded mild cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Saute onions in butter over medium heat for 5 minutes until translucent.
3. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
4. Spread hashbrown mixture on to a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish.
5. Mix 2 Tbsp. melted butter together with crushed Corn Flakes, and spread on top of the hashbrown mixture.
6. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Layered Marshmallow Sweet Potato Casserole
INGREDIENTS
2-29 oz. cans, or 1 1/2 40 oz. cans of sweet potatoes (yams), drained
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 bag mini marshmallows
Optional: 2/3 c. pecans or walnuts, chopped
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, hand mash sweet potatoes, leaving slightly chunky.
- Add all other ingredients to the bowl, except the marshmallows, and hand mix for 2-3 minutes.
- In a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, pour half of the sweet potato mixture in the baking dish.
- Layer half of the marshmallows on top of the sweet potato mixture.
- Top with remainder of the sweet potato mixture.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove and top with remaining marshmallows, bake for 10 more minutes, and the broil for 2 minutes so that the marshmallows are slightly browned.
Ultimate Green Bean Casserole
INGREDIENTS
6 cans of cut green beans, drained
6 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. milk
6 Tbsp. butter
1 med. onion, diced
3 c. swiss cheese, shredded
1 can, French fried onions
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Drain green beans and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together flour salt, sugar and pepper and set aside.
- Saute onions in butter over low heat for 2 minutes. Stir in milk and flour mixture.
- Stir until thick and bubbly.
- In a large bowl, stir together flour mixture, sour cream and green beans.
- Layer green bean mixture and swiss cheese in a 9 x 13 baking dish.
- Top with French fried onions.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
Crock Pot Baked Apples
INGREDIENTS
3 lbs. Granny Smith apples
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter, cut into cubes
DIRECTIONS
- Peel, core and slice apples. Place in the Crock Pot.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together sugars, spices, cornstarch and salt. Pour over apples and stir until apples are coated.
- Dot with butter.
- Cook on low for 6 hours, leaving the lid slightly cracked to let steam escape.
Spicy Collard Greens
INGREDIENTS
2 bunches fresh collard greens, rinsed and de-stemmed
5 strips Wright’s thick cut bacon, fried and chopped
1 Tbsp bacon grease
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tsp. minced garlic
3 c. chicken broth
1 tsp. Cayenne red pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. butter
DIRECTIONS
- Rinse and de-stem greens.
- Lay the leaves on top of each other, roll them up, and then cut them into strips.
- Place greens in a bowl and set aside.
- Fry bacon, drain and reserve grease and chop.
- In a stock pot, saute onion and garlic in butter over med/low heat until translucent.
- Add chicken broth, red pepper, salt, pepper, onion powder, bacon and bacon grease. Bring to boil and then simmer for 25 minutes, uncovered.
- Add greens, cover and cook on low for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
For more side dish ideas, check out the Recipe Box page!