• Raising Boys

  • In The Kitchen

  • Family Travels

Thanksgiving Sides That Will Make Everyone Grateful

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays, and no matter what is happening in the world, we always have something to be grateful for. We have our family, we have our health, and we have time to be together. It’s also a celebration of my son, who was born on Thanksgiving Day many moons ago, so we especially love this time of year and all that we have been blessed with ♥︎

This year I am sharing some great sides for a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner, all tried and tested in the weeks leading up to the big day by my family (who love it when I try out new foods and recipes- you never know what your new favorite food is going to be!). Check these out and try them to enhance your family Thanksgiving Dinner side and appetizers too!

Wholesome, warm, buttery dinner rolls

Dinner rolls are one of those foods that are so popular, people tend to fill up on them before dinner even arrives. Parkerhouse Style Rolls Dough from Bridgford® are so tasty and fresh that guests will likely snatch them up quickly, but it’s worth it for every butter-crusted, soft, wholesome bite. Our sons love them and want to eat them freshly baked, so I found myself using them recently when I make sliders or mini-sandwiches. I’ve been testing out some Thanksgiving recipes, and found that adding slices of turkey to the rolls make perfect lunches- soooo delicious! And now we know what to do with leftover turkey this year, and the rest of the time we’ve been baking up buttery rolls and cinnamon monkey bread… it always smells amazing around here.

Bridgford® Parkerhouse Style Rolls Dough includes 24 one ounce yeast roll dough pieces in each bag, so if you are hosting Thanksgiving, it’s the perfect amount to please all your guests if they each grab a roll or two. You can also just bake what you need and save the rest for later (the product can be stored for up to 30 days after opening). They are also perfectly sized to pack together to make monkey bread, and they are fresh (no preservatives) so it’s like making it from scratch, but someone else did all the work. Parkerhouse Rolls are Non-GMO and made with better ingredients, and should be kept frozen until ready to use because they have no preservatives (look for them in the freezer aisle at the market). Baking with Bridgford makes the house smell divine and makes meals so much cozier and wonderful- just how family meals together should be.

Save on your favorite Bridgford Foods Products! Download a coupon offer for Bridgford Foods Frozen Dinner Rolls here.
.

Appetizers that feel like home

One of the easiest meals I can make, in addition to being one of the heartiest, is a good creamy chicken casserole. It’s a true comfort food, and it’s amazing with a creamy filling topped with a crispy parmesan cheese and breadcrumb topping. We made a delicious “Creamy Chicken Pot Pie Casserole” recently as a test run for Thanksgiving, and it was sooo good that I know I’ll be making in pretty much every week from now on. We used 4C Homestyle Parmesan Cheese for our grated cheese, and 4C Breadcrumbs to make the delicious upper crust, and it was a home run. It’s definitely going to be on our Thanksgiving Dinner dinner table as an appetizer in a couple of weeks.

4C Homestyle Parmesan Cheese is 100% Pecorino Romano Cheese without any additives, no preservatives, no cellulose, no fillers, and it’s so nutty and delicious. Combined with 4C Panko (they are available plain and gluten-free), which are freshly toasted breadcrumbs, the creamy chicken pot pie casserole topping was a scrumptiously textured, toasted layer of wonderfulness, and it paired perfectly with the hot, filling, savory chicken pot pie filling… so good! I simply made a creamy chicken pot pie with veggies and topped it with an even mixture of the 4C Homestyle Parmesan Cheese and 4C Breadcrumbs (a pretty thick layer since it’s a super delicious alternative as a crust), and let it bake to golden perfection. This would work well with Thanksgiving turkey as well as for a turkey pot pie!

Get ready to level up Thanksgiving Dinner this year with an amazing pot pie side topped with this amazing crust! Learn more about 4C Foods here.
.

Revitalize your kitchen with amazing new recipes

I’m always trying to come up with new ways to recreate favorite foods, and a glorious new cookbook came my way that shares some really amazing ways to add some excitement to meal time. I Cook in Color: Bright Flavors from My Kitchen and Around the World by Asha Gomez and Martha Hall Foose encourages us to create meals that look as good as they taste, with a rainbow of colorful (and healthy!) vegetables, gem-colored desserts and savory recipes. If you like spicy, it’s here for you! The recipes in this cookbook celebrate the palates of various cultures by infusing them into recipes like Ginger-Scallion Steamed Branzino, Turkey Moussaka (grind up the leftovers), Clove-Infused Tomato Soup with Puffy Lids, and Three-Mushroom and Bok Choy Stir-Fry.

Asha Gomez shows a true appreciation and admiration for the delicious contributions of many cultures, in a way that results in some of the most unique and incredibly tantalizing recipes I’ve ever come across, that I’m planning to pick up her other cookbook, My Two Souths for more diverse cuisines. Most of the ingredients were in my fridge and pantry when I whipped up Asha’s Winter Chili on a whim (because it sounded sooo good), and I’m looking forward to recreating some of her amazing dishes throughout the year, and surprising my family with gorgeously plated, colorful, and tasty new foods to make mealtimes in the Guzman home more delightful than ever. If you are looking for great new recipe ideas, pick this up!

Check out I Cook In Color Cookbook here… it really is as fabulous as it sounds!!
.

Hummus that tastes better than dessert

Rich, decadent desserts make even the best meals better, and elevate holiday dinners when a delicious meal is followed up by incredible dessert. I absolutely love Pumpkin Pie (probably my favorite pie) and I love dark chocolate, so Dark Chocolate Hummus and Pumpkin Pie Hummus from Tribe Hummus are ideal desserts for Thanksgiving Dinner. They are healthier because the first ingredient for each is chickpeas; sneaking in healthier ingredients is easy when the result is this decadent and delicious! Tribe Pumpkin Pie Hummus actually tastes like Sweet Pumpkin with cinnamon and fall spices, like real pumpkin pie filling. It tastes great with pretzel chips, and I’m planning to serve it with graham crackers as an appetizer for Thanksgiving because that’s as close to pumpkin pie with a graham cracker crust as you can get- in single serving sizes!

Tribe Dark Chocolate Hummus is a smooth blend of chickpeas and cocoa that is so rich, you won’t believe it’s not pure sugar. It really is made with chickpeas! It’s wonderful, and you might be tempted to just eat spoonfuls of it (you don’t have to feel so guilty- it’s hummus and better-for-you), or dip strawberries into it, eat it with pretzels (healthier chocolate covered pretzels), or even use it as a topping for cupcakes to make a fantastic tasting treat that have vegetables in it. The possibilities are really endless- use Tribe Dark Chocolate Hummus in s’mores, to top breakfast pancakes, as cake frosting, and so much more, and these dessert hummus only has 6 grams of sugar per serving.

Visit Tribe Hummus to find a store near you and get a $1 off coupon. Definitely try these- they taste better than any pumpkin pie filling or chocolate dip I’ve tried before.
.

The Bacon Lovers Dream

I’m pretty sure you know a bacon lover. You may have quite a few coming over for Thanksgiving Dinner, or you may be a bacon lover yourself (raises hand). If so, you will love the Bacon Lover from The Baconer- it’s bacon every way you could possibly want it. The Bacon Lover is a great gift idea, offering a complete lineup of artisan bacon- two packs of Small Batch Bacon, one package of XXL Bacon Steaks (cut to 1/2 inch thick), one package of Smoked Lardons (diced bacon pieces that can be cooked up and added to anything- salads, egg omelettes, Thanksgiving stuffing, ground beef patties for an amazing burger), and one package of pure Ground Bacon, coarsely cut and unadulterated.

We had a great time adding everything in The Baconer’s Lover pack into our recipes, especially the Smoked Lardons. I tossed some into pasta sauce, or mixed it in with vegatable dishes (I eat lots of veggies every day, and a bowl of grilled vegetables and bacon is a great keto dish), the boys asked me to add it to their tortellini dishes. The Baconer prioritizes exceptional quality and choose premium pork from small family farms where pigs roam freely and eat a 100% vegetarian diet- no antibiotics or hormones. They offer many options for Premium Artisan Bacon Boxes that would really make some people happy this holiday season, offering them hard to find cuts of delicious, slow-smoked bacon that is rich in flavor, tender, and delicious. They are now offering a discount until 12/31 with code POBaconLover20 here.
.

Happy Thanksgiving!


.