The turkey may be the star of the show, but Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without traditional casseroles, something to tide your family over until dinner, and other special extras. This Thanksgiving, WDAV staff members share the recipes their loved ones look forward to most.
Cheesy Breakfast Strata
Tamberly Ferguson
Director of Digital Media and Strategy
“There is nothing like starting Thanksgiving morning with a good hearty breakfast, especially when you are cooking the main meal. I prep this dish the night before and put it in the oven when starting the day. It will give you enough energy to cook the Thanksgiving feast and keep your relatives at bay until it is time to eat the main meal.”
Ingredients:
4 cups of bread, cubed
1 pound pork sausage
1 medium green or red pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stick of butter, cubed
1 cup shredded Cabot Seriously Sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese (optional)
6 large eggs
2 cups milk
Salt
Black pepper
Directions:
Oil a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with cooking spray. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add sausage and cook, breaking up large pieces with a spoon, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. In the same greased pan, add pepper and onion over medium-high heat, season with salt and pepper, cook about 5 minutes, remove from heat and let cool. Combine bread, sausage, pepper, onion, and butter in baking dish.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, salt, pepper and milk; pour egg over top of bread mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°. Remove strata from refrigerator while oven heats.
Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted in center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.
JB’s World Famous Stuffing
Jon Barcelo
Corporate Sponsorship Representative
“Since I’ve been deep frying my turkey for several years, and since everybody loves stuffing, I’ve been making this recipe as a side dish on Thanksgiving. I don’t follow a recipe per se, so the following is how it goes for me. Measurements are all estimates. I encourage creative liberties to satisfy individual tastes.
This will feed 8-10, but make extra (double) as it goes great on those Friday, Saturday, and Sunday turkey sandwiches too!”
Ingredients:
1 bag of pepperidge farms dry breadcrumb stuffing mix
Butter or olive oil (for frying pan)
1 package of ground sausage and hamburger, about a half pound each (or one or the other)
1 or two onions diced
1 celery stalk diced
Several garlic gloves, chopped
1 hot pepper (optional, depending how you like the heat), diced
Italian seasonings, to taste (I also use garlic powder and crushed red pepper)
½ cup dry white wine and 1 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
Directions:
In a large frying pan over medium heat, sauté the meats and vegetables until tender with a tab of butter or tablespoon of olive oil. Add the stuffing mix and seasonings. Mix well.
Add the white wine and chicken broth until moist but not soggy. Additional wine or warm water can be added to make it moist and sticky. Mix well.
Place in a greased baking dish, top with grated cheese and basil. Bake at 350 degrees, about 30-45 minutes until golden brown.
Thanksgiving Day Rotel Dip
Will Keible
Director of Marketing & Corporate Support
“This recipe for Rotel dip is a hit at any gathering and travels well. Best of all, it’s easy to make. I think the recipe’s origin may be the label of a can of Rotel, but it was taught to me by my Dad so, technically speaking, it does qualify as a family recipe.”
Ingredients:
1 package of Neese’s Country Sausage (16 oz.)
1 can of Rotel Original Organic Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies (10 oz.)
1 bar of cream cheese (8 oz.)
1 bag of Fritos Scoops
Instructions:
- Ground and brown sausage in saucepan on medium heat.
- Cube cream cheese and mix into ground sausage until melted.
- Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Mix in Rotel.
- Turn off heat and transfer to a heated dish or crock pot. Keep heat on low.
- Serve with Fritos Scoops.