Thanksgiving has come and gone which makes me super sad! I’ve always loved Thanksgiving because 1) the food and 2) a lot of good memories from my childhood. Also, my entire life trajectory changed on a thanksgiving 5 years ago when I had no where to go for Thanksgiving and my friend Lyn invited me over to spend the evening with his family. Little did I know that moment would change my whole life.

No matter what Thanksgiving means to you there’s at least one thing we all share in common…the FOOD! Here are some of my staple Thanksgiving dishes!

Deviled Eggs. You can’t go wrong serving up some delicious deviled eggs. I prefer classic eggs. One year my step-dad Adam decided to spice them up with jalapeños and I tried to eat them, but just couldn’t do it! Don’t mess with these, keep them plain!

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. I drool over this dish each year. I prefer them homemade with little potato chunks in them, but I’m not too picky just make sure to have them!

Stuffing. This was always my sister Kellie’s favorite and not really mine, but over the years I have learned to love it. I don’t like it out of the turkey and prefer it homemade versus Stoffers Stove Top version.

Green Bean Casserole. Now this is a recent favorite too. We always had green beans growing up but never the casserole. When I had this dish for the first time, it changed my life.

Turkey and Rolls. And then the main events. This was my first year making a turkey and of course not to add pressure to myself I volunteered to prepare an 18 pound turkey for a friend’s Thanksgiving with their family… 10 people in attendance. Luckily it turned out great! Nice and moist and flavorful. I mean look at that coloring! But don’t overlook the rolls! You always need good rolls to sop up the gravy!

Whether you spent this Thanksgiving with your friends or your family or a mixture of both I hope it was a great one! And don’t worry, tomorrow I’m going to post a few ideas of what you can do with those Thanksgiving leftovers!