Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving is coming up fast! Many of my stateside friends are gathering up all the ingredients for their own traditional Thanksgiving dinners.  I love that it is a holiday filled with tasty food traditions!  I love celebrating with food!

So today I thought I would share two of my favorite recipes that are always at our Thanksgiving meal.  To me, it just isn't Thanksgiving without them!

First up!  A scrumptious cranberry sauce!  Not your ol' goo from a can!  This is made from real, fresh cranberries and is chocked full of other fruity goodies!

Scrumptious Cranberry Sauce

1 cup water
1 cup white sugar {or sweetener of choice}
12 oz package fresh cranberries
1 orange, peeled and pureed
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 pear, peeled, cored and diced
1 cup chopped dried mixed fruit
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to simmer, and stir in rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Leftovers taste great as a pie, wrapped and baked in phyllo, as a crisp, spooned over ice cream or baked over brie, as well as more traditional uses such as on a turkey sandwich.

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The next one is a family favorite passed down through the generations--my grandmother used to make this, my mom makes this and now I do too.  I don't have an old picture in my files of this one yet, but I will add one to this post after I make it this year.

Yams and Apples

6 sweet potatoes, cooked and sliced thinly
6 small apples, peeled and sliced thinly
1 cup orange juice, mixed
2/3 cup sugar {or other sweetener of choice}
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Layer yams and apples in a buttered casserole dish. Combine ingredients for sauce. Stir and cook til thick and smooth Pour over yams and apples. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Waaaayyy better than anything with marshmallows on them! To me, this is the only way to enjoy yams! And for those that say they don't like yams, I always think to myself that they certainly would if they ever tasted this recipe!  These are not your average yams with carmelized brown sugar, or marshmallows on top but a delicious fruity blend with apples and orange juice!  I'm telling you, it is TASTY my friends!

What are some of your favorite

traditional holiday foods?