Take These Sides to Thanksgiving Dinner

If you're cooking for the whole family, what side dish do you always make? When someone invites you to Thanksgiving dinner, what do you always take? We posed the questions to selected Kimbrough Law staff members. Here's what they will be making.

Broccoli Salad

Client Care Coordinator Renatta Rasmussen invented this dish by improving on a pasta recipe. "It's all the ingredients, minus the pasta," she laughs. "The family loves it because it brings in some greens to offset all the carbs we eat at Thanksgiving and Christmas.😊

Ingredients

3 broccoli crowns, cut, washed, steamed, and cooled

1 – 2 cans petite diced tomatoes

1 cup frozen green peas

Italian seasoning, to taste (Renatta uses about 1 teaspoon to start with)

½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

½ bottle of your favorite Italian salad dressing (Renatta likes Kraft Zesty Italian or Olive Garden)

Instructions

Mix, chill, and enjoy!

Corn Casserole

For Amanda Collins, a paralegal who works primarily in Kimbrough Law's Gainesville office, this recipe from Paula Deen is the side dish her family requests year after year.

Ingredients

1 (15 1/4 oz) can drained whole kernel corn

1 (14 3/4 oz) can cream-style corn

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

1 (8 oz) package corn muffin mix

medium shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

In a large bowl, stir together the two cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and butter. Pour into a greased casserole. Bake at 350 °F for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Top with a generous amount of cheddar cheese and return to oven for another 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Waldorf Salad

When Life Care Coordinator Mary Jo Johnson was younger, her mother and three sisters did the cooking on Thanksgiving Day. They were only comfortable with Mary Jo working on dishes she couldn’t ruin, like rolls, beverages, or peeling and mashing potatoes. As Mary Jo grew older, her family rather liked that she could chop the apples, celery, and add grapes, walnuts, and raisins without too much difficulty. The secret is in the right combination of mayo, sugar, lemon juice, or vinegar, and hint of seasonings to make a delicious Waldorf Salad. Here's Mary Jo's family-favorite version.

Ingredients

2 cups diced tart apples , or 2 apples

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 cup diced celery

1 cup grapes , halved

1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans , roughly chopped

1/2 cup whipping cream , whipped

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Add the diced apples to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with the sugar and lemon juice. Toss to coat. Add the celery, grapes, and nuts.

In another bowl, whip the whipping cream until peaks form, then gently fold in the mayonnaise. Fold into the apple mixture and season with the kosher salt. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Chill for 1 hour or overnight. Serve by itself or on a lettuce leaf.