Thanksgiving Favorites with a Southwest Twist

Put an Everyday Southwest spin on your Holliday Table. I’ve gathered some of our favorite holiday recipes together in one place so they are as easy to find as they are to make.

Thanksgiving is coming.  Wait a minute, Thanksgiving is here!  Thursday, this Thursday.  I’ve got to get to the grocery store!  So, I’ve gathered some of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes together and put them here, in one place.  The roasted  butternut squash salad, the soup, the sweet potato recipes and… wait for it… the pies!  No more searching for recipes that are written on little scraps of paper and tucked into every cookbook in the house.

If you haven’t gotten to the grocery store yet, or finalized your own menu for the biggest “foodie” holiday of the year, it is quite possible you are waiting for a big revelation, some divine inspiration or a lightbulb moment showing you how to switch up your holiday dinner.

Well, here’s your inspiration… que the lightbulbs…  how about a Southwest twist on classic Thanksgiving this year?  No, no, I don’t mean hunt your own turkey or go shoot a deer, just put a new spin on your side dishes and desserts.  You know, mix it up a little, make things interesting, wake them up at the dinner table and save the nap until after the dishes are done.

It’s hard to make a salad special enough for a holiday dinner table but my Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette is beautiful and delicious.

If you are tired of the same ol’ sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, try Donna’s great sweet potato chowder or sweet potato and pecan tamales.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette Recipe (photo at top of post)

Southwest Sweet Potato Chowder–a Slow Cooker Recipe  (above)

Chipotle Sweet Potato and Pecan Tamale Recipe (above)

Donna definitely has a way with sweet potatoes but, I have a way with pie.  Dulce de Leche adds a richness to my pumpkin pies that is often missing from the traditional pie.  And my Fresh Banana Cream Pie?  Forget about it!   No, really, please do give it a try to make the fruit pie lovers at your table happy.  You can make the individual crusts (or one large crust) and the pastry cream the day before.  Then, assemble the pie with fresh banana slices while everyone else is doing the dishes.

Pumpkin Pie with Dulce de Leche Recipe  (above)

Fresh Banana Cream Pie Recipe (top of post)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Sandy