Contemporary Holiday Dishes

I haven't shared any recipes in a long time over here. Probably because nothing too terribly exciting is going on in our kitchen. Eating to live these days. :) But I was thinking about Thanksgiving next week...and thinking about the traditional meal my family will be having with both sets of my grandparents. Jeremy and I swap holidays with our families. Thanksgiving is with my side this year and Christmas will be with his. That way, we are not running all over the place trying to see everyone. It's an attempt to get solid quality time with our families and with just the five of us as well. Well, last year we hosted Thanksgiving for Jeremy's family. So I took the opportunity jazz up the menu. I just don't like the traditional spread: turkey, ham, green bean casserole, canned cranberry sauce. I do like my meme's dressing. But her recipe is really the only one that I like. She passed away last August. But so many eyes have watched and helped for the last 30+ years, they can just about recreate her special dish to a T. Back to last year...thanks to Pinterest I tried a few new recipes and put a contemporary spin on our Thanksgiving meal. I thought I'd pass on some of my favorites in case you had a holiday gathering you needed to bring a special dish to in the coming months.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip was a tasty little appetizer I made. Served with Ritz crackers and Wheat Thins, everyone seemed to love it. Except my dear husband who won't come within 10 yards of cream cheese. Had he tasted, I have to believe he would have loved it as well!

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I always love a good salad. So for Thanksgiving, i went with Autumn Chopped Salad. It's full of Romaine, pears, craisins, bacon, pecans and feta cheese. The dressing was an easy combo of combining two different premade bottles. This salad was amazing.

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And probably the best part of a Thanksgiving meal  is always dessert. Says the girl that doesn't like pumpkin pie. I do love pecan pie though! But instead of going that traditional route, I found this Pecan Pie Cheesecake. I had never made a cheesecake and I was very intimidated by the idea. But I followed the instructions and it came out perfectly. At some point during the holiday season, I will be making this one again. It's a little work, but so worth the extra effort!

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