Week Seven

I am sitting here in my bed with an upper respiratory infection wishing that it was Thanksgiving and my belly is full of rolls, potatoes, turkey, and mac and cheese. As you can tell, I am bored, sick, and slightly hungry. With the holiday season coming up, it is time to prepare for Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Whatever you may be celebrating you need to answer the question “What am I going to make?” Girl, what are you going to make? No clue? Do not worry, this week we are going to dive into side dishes you can bring to your holiday gathering that will have your friends and family wanting more. We're going to dive into potatoes and mac and cheese, vegetables, and breads.

Potatoes and Mac and Cheese

You cannot have a successful holiday meal without some form of starch and my choice of starch is a potato. Whether you’re a mashed or roasted girl, you gotta have a potato. 

We have to start out with the usual staple holiday side, mashed potatoes. You can make mashed potatoes whatever you want. You can add some cheese, a protein, spices, whatever you please. My favorite type of mashed potato is a creamy, garlicky one, so that’s what you will get. It is so simple, all you need are potatoes, garlic, butter, cream, and seasonings of choc. They take less than 20 minutes to make, so it is perfect to whip up after work, before your Friendsgiving. Check out the recipe at this link! 

Another yummy potato recipe to have your friends asking for the recipe are crispy, yet soft hasselback potatoes. While these may take a little bit longer to cook, if you would rather have a crunch that people can personalize with sour cream, cheese, and bacon, then this recipe is for you. All you have to do is cut the potatoes nearly through, add butter and seasonings and cook! Then, you can bring toppings to give people potato autonomy if they want to zhuzh it up. Check out the yummy hasselback potatoes here!

Where are my lactose intolerant queens at???? Hey girl, I see you waiting for the mac and cheese section. Let’s dive in. Obviously, we cannot talk about the holiday season and mac and cheese without bringing up Tini’s (@tinekeyounger on TikTok) famous mac and cheese. This mac and cheese is full of cheese, pasta, and so much love. Check out this link for a written recipe and make sure to check out her Tiktok for this mac and cheese recipe and her other recipes made for the holidays.

Now, for my people who do not have the time to cook Tini’s mac and cheese, let's talk about how to make boxed mac and cheese taste homemade. My momma, cooks her mac and cheese to box instructions, then seasons it, adds it to a baking dish, layers some extra cheese in it, then adds crushed up crackers for a crust. You can find tons of ideas on Pinterest, I have linked my search here. 

Vegetables

We all know vegetables are not why we get excited for the holidays, but they are still a staple to any holiday meal. They do not have to be boring, make them cool. For example, bacon wrapped asparagus or green bean bundles. All you have to do is slightly cook your bacon, boil your green beans, then wrap the green beans with bacon, and bake until done. Green bean casserole is out, bacon wrapped green beans are in. Check out the recipe here!

One of my favorite, and only, vegetables on my holiday plate is corn. Yes, you can just use the microwavable corn, but if you want it to stay warm and feed a big group, then make it in the crock pot. All you need is corn, cream cheese, milk, butter, sugar and seasoning. Pop it in your crock pot for two hours and boom, you have a yummy side. Check it out here!

Breads

Finally, let’s get into what breads you should buy or bake. I am no sourdough professional, but if you have the time and the ability, I love a good sourdough roll. However, there are some yummy store bought breads that never fail to have mouths watering. My favorite store bought rolls are Sister Shuberts and the Rhodes rising rolls. You can bring fancy butters or spreads to add some flavor to the rolls, too. 

If you are interested in making your own bread, then you got it! Whether you are a pro at cooking bread or just looking to impress yourself and your friends, there are some awesome ideas on Pinterest that span all mastery levels. Check out my search here!

Let's Eat

Hungry yet? Me too. I hope you got some inspiration from this week’s entry, or at least something to send to your friend who cooks. Next week, we will end this series with dessert ideas that are one serving and one hundred percent easy for sweet treat o’clock.  Keep cooking and I will see you next week!