Best Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving is more than a large meal. It's an opportunity to gather with family and friends to indulge in not only great food but also the camaraderie of having all of your loved ones together in the same place. Whether you're a seasoned chef or a novice, you can create a feast that will satiate you for the rest of the day and leave a lasting impression on everyone. From the turkey to the dessert, your table can be loaded with classic Thanksgiving fare, including these recipes.

If you've ever roasted a turkey and had it come out dry, you may be wondering what you did wrong. Several things can happen to a turkey, including overcooking it. The best way to make a turkey is in a turkey roaster or creating a tent if you use an oven. You can use a turkey roaster for many other things, as you can bake, roast, and cook in it. You can even use it to keep a large amount of food, such as soups and casseroles, warm for large gatherings.

If you use an oven, create a "tent" out of heavy-duty aluminum foil over the top of the turkey without letting the tent touch the turkey. The tent helps keep the moisture in the pan.

Spread soft butter on the turkey to help flavor it and make the skin crunchier. Add spices after spreading butter on the turkey. A good spice combination includes:

• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Poultry seasoning
• Badia Seafood Seasoning / Creole Blend (Lightly, if you don't care for spicy food).

Liberally sprinkle the seasoning all over the top of the turkey, making sure you get the legs and wings. If you don't stuff your turkey, you can add seasoning to the cavity by mixing all the seasonings and then rubbing it on the walls of the cavity.

Add about 2 cups of water to the bottom of the pan. Set the turkey on a cookie sheet or the rack that comes with the roasting pan and bake at 325 degrees until done (depends on how big your turkey is). We found that the roaster cooks the turkey much faster. At about 325 degrees, a 16-20 pound turkey cooks in 2.5 to 3.5 hours instead of 5-6 hours at 350. 

Some must-haves at Thanksgiving include:

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, melted

2 eggs

8.5-ounce package Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

1 can corn, drained

1 can cream corn

1 cup sour cream

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8x8 baking pan and set it aside.

2. Combine the melted butter, eggs, Jiffy, both cans of corn and sour cream in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.

3. Spread the batter in the baking dish.

4. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until the casserole is golden brown.

This is a twist on a classic.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese plus 1/2 cup cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top
• 1 cup of real bacon bits
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• 4 cans green beans, French cut style, drained
• 1 cup French's French Fried Onions plus 1 cup French's French Fried Onions to sprinkle on top

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Mix the soup and milk in a large bowl.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the cheese and onions set aside for the top) and mix well, making sure all ingredients are covered and well-distributed.

4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until hot.

5. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese and 1 cup onions over the top of the casserole.

6. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown. 

1. Boil 1 pound of baby carrots until they are tender.

2. Add 1/2 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of brown sugar to the pan you cooked the carrots in. Place on the hot burner or low heat and stir until the butter and sugar are melted.

3. Add the carrots and make sure they are all coated with the brown sugar mixture.

4. Place in a serving bowl or mini crockpot / warmer. 

Peel about 2 pounds of sweet potatoes and rough chop into 2-inch pieces. Boil them until they are tender.

Drain and mash them. Set aside. In the hot pan on low heat, melt 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Add 1-1/2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper (you can use more if you want). Mix well.

Add the mashed sweet potatoes and mix them well over low heat. Put them in a serving bowl and garnish with chopped parsley.

** You can also do this with butternut squash. 

Way back in the day, you used to be able to buy succotash (creamed corn and lima beans) in a can. We haven't seen that for many years. If you grew up having succotash at Thanksgiving and miss it, you can have it again.

Mix 2 cans of creamed corn with 1 can of drained baby lima beans. Heat until warm. You can serve it in a serving bowl or put it in a small slow cooker to keep it warm throughout dinner. 

Ingredients:

4 cups Jiffy biscuit mix

1-1/3 cup whole buttermilk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 stick butter

1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place parchment paper on a sheet pan and spray it lightly with cooking spray.

2. Melt the butter and mix it with the garlic powder. Set it aside.

3. Mix the cheese and buttermilk.

4. Add the Jiffy mix and hand mix it until it forms a dough. The dough will be sticky.

5. Drop biscuits onto prepared pans.

6. Coat with butter mixture. If you don't have a pastry brush, a folded half-sheet of paper towel dipped in the butter mixture works great (fold the paper towel over and over so it's thick).

7. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown (Jiffy doesn't always brown on the top, so don't rely on that).

For rolled biscuits:

Use the same recipe. Sprinkle flour on the dough and coat your hands with flour. Form the dough into a ball, handling as little as possible while in the bowl.

Spread some flour on the counter. Divide the ball of dough in half. Roll out to 1/2-inch thick and cut with biscuit cutters. Set the leftover scraps of dough to the side.

Roll out the second half of the dough and cut out the biscuits. Combine the scraps with the first batch of scraps into a ball. Roll out and cut. Repeat until you don't have enough dough to make a biscuit. You can just fit that last little bit on the pan as a drop biscuit.

We at EpochWriter want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!