10 Healthier Thanksgiving Side Dishes and Appetizers!

Thanksgiving and healthy don't usually go together. But it doesn't hurt to have a side or two that taste great and is great for you.

1. Baked Apple Chips


2. Roasted Kidney Beans


3. Roasted Pumpkin Chickpeas


4. Parsnip Chips


5. Baked Potato Soup


6. Baked Parmesan Tomatoes


7. Roasted Peas


8. Spinach Balls


9. Salt and Vinegar Roasted Potatoes


10. Sauteed Kale with Bacon




Enjoy!

30 Thanksgiving Sides and Appetizers!

Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite meal of the entire year. I am not exaggerating. We had Thanksgiving dinner at my wedding because I love turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes so much. But even I can admit, that sometimes you need to change things up. Maybe try a new stuffing or a different dinner roll. Or add something newin to the old lineup.

Appetizers:
1. Cream Cheese Ragoons


2. Jalapeno Popper Wontons


3. Spinach Balls with Spicy Tomato Dipping Sauce (one of our all time favs)


4. Snowflake Tortilla Chips (really fun for kids)


5. Parsnip Chips (if you're looking for something healthy)


6. Cheese Puffs for Cheese Lovers


7. Cheesy Twists


8. Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip


9. Sugared Nuts


10. Chocolate Covered Cranberries (I wish I could eat these all year long)


11. Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip (This has become my go-to for holiday potlucks. It's always a hit!)


12. Apple Pie Salsa



Breads:
13. Pull Apart Spinach and Cheese Bread


14. Soft and Chewy French Bread


15. Sour Cream Dinner Rolls


16. Homemade Breadsticks


17. French Fried Onion Rolls (my husband and FIL's fav)



Side Dishes:
18. Butternut Squash Soup


19. Pumpkin Soup with Sage Croutons and Bacon


20. Roasted Potatoes, Sausage, and Peppers


21. Savory Baked Apples stuffed with Sausage and Sage


22. Alfredo Green Bean Casserole


23. Bacon Barbecue Green Bean Casserole


24. Simply the Best Mac and Cheese (from scratch)


25. How to Make Boxed Mac and Cheese Taste Homemade (if you're looking for something really simple and yummy)


26. Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes


27. Ranch, Cheddar, and Bacon Potatoes


28. Salt and Vinegar Roasted Potatoes


29. Cranberry Sauce Three Ways


30. Sourdough Cornbread Stuffing with Bacon


Enjoy!

Crunchy Roasted Butter Beans

I'm always looking for healthier snacks. Roasted chickpeas, roasted peas, zucchini chips are just a few of my favorites. For some reason I had a can of butter beans in my pantry (a gift for our pantry wedding shower, maybe?) and had no idea what to do with them. So I decided to roast them. They're crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and addicting.

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can butter beans, drained and rinsed
Lemon Pepper Seasoning (or the spice of your choice)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Pat the beans dry with paper towel. Spread them on the cookie sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 20 minutes, flipping the beans half way through cooking.

Season with lemon pepper seasoning.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Healthy Snacks: 
Baked Apple Chips
Roasted Butternut Seeds
Kale Chips
Yellow Squash Chips 
Yogurt-Covered Blueberries

Fried Dill Pickles

Eric loves dill pickles. If we go out to eat and I order a sandwich (sandwiches always seem to come with a pickle), he never fails to ask if he can have it. So when I saw these fried pickles, I had to make them for him.

Recipe slightly adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Sliced dill pickles (approximately 36)
1 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
Oil for frying
1 cup flour
salt
pepper
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried dill

Directions:
In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, heat oil to between 360 and 370 degrees using a candy thermometer.

In a shallow dish, combine the flour with salt and pepper. In a second shallow dish, beat egg and milk together. In a third shallow dish, combine the breadcrumbs with paprika and dill.

Pat the pickles dry with paper towel. Dredge the pickles in the flour then in the egg mixture. Shake off excess liquid then coat the pickles in the breadcrumbs.

Fry the pickles in small batches for 3 to 4 minutes or until they turn brown and crispy. Place on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any excess oil.

Serve with dip such as marinara sauce or ranch dressing.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Appetizer Recipes:
Bacon and Cheese Deviled Eggs 
Cheese Puffs for Cheese Lovers!
Homemade Pita Chips 
Spinach Balls with a Spicy Tomato Dipping Sauce 
Roasted Peas

Spinach Balls with a Spicy Tomato Dipping Sauce

Christmas tree in front of the State Capitol in Lansing, MI

This past Christmas I hosted my first Christmas dinner! It was me and Eric, my parents, his parents, and his grandma. Seven people. I've cooked for more, but never for a special occasion like Christmas. Even though I love to cook, I will admit I was a little nervous and a little overwhelmed. I was testing out several new recipes and I'd never cooked a ham before. But I have to say, everything came together perfectly. Not just the food, but the company. Eric's grandma was smiling and glowing (she told me that she didn't remember the last time she spent Christmas outside of her own home). Our dads were gabbing and so were our moms. And they were all vying for the dog's attention. Arya just has that effect on people.

I prepared chocolate covered cranberries, bacon and cheese deviled eggs, and these spinach balls for appetizers. I had made the other two recipes before (totally addicted to chocolate covered cranberries) but the spinach balls were a first. I can't even begin to tell you how good there were. I can't wait to make them again. Both Eric and I were keeping our fingers crossed that there would be some leftovers so we could munch on them later. And there were, just not as many as we have liked.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Spinach Balls
1 10-ounce pack of frozen spinach, thawed and drained (making sure spinach is well drained is very
        important)
2 tablespoon onion, minced
1 heaping cup stuffing with herbs
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Spicy Tomato Sauce
1 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce
hot sauce, to taste

Directions:
Spinach Balls
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet with cooking spray.

In a large bow, mix all the ingredients together until they are well combined. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls and place on the cookie sheet.  

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the bottoms of the balls are lightly brown. Makes approximately 30 balls. Serve warm.

Spicy Tomato Sauce
Pour tomato sauce in a bowl, add hot sauce to taste. We like things spicy around here and added quite a bit.

I spent the five days before Christmas baking and cooking in preparation. I made these on Christmas Eve, put then in the fridge over night then popped them back in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Sadly, things were so hectic Christmas morning/afternoon, I forgot to take pictures of my food. So I don't have a picture of the sauce. But both my mom and my mother-in-law commented more than once how much the sauce complimented the balls.

Dinner table

Dessert table

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Appetizer Recipes:
Cheese Puffs for Cheese Lovers!
Cream Cheese Rangoons
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Jalapeno Popper Wontons
Parmesan Zucchini Bites
Snowflake Tortilla Chips