Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Howdy, y’all. Today, I am so glad to share with all of you three Thanksgiving side dishes that Shannon and I have at our table every November. Thanksgiving is every day here at the ranch, because gratitude and faith are so important to us. I am honored for each of you that will serve these recipes to the most important people in your life on a special day for gathering together.

The three recipes we are sharing today are for scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, and my mama’s cranberry marshmallow salad. To top it all off, I’m going to share with you a stacked Dutch oven method for when you’ve got two Dutch ovens but just a little space to cook. I’m not going to wait for you, so lets get going.

Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped Potatoes is one of Shannon’s recipes and it contains a secret ingredient. This recipe is featured in our Faith, Family, and the Feast cookbook and is perfect for a Thanksgiving side if you don’t make mashed taters. Now, if you love mashed taters, we have a recipe for that too. Stick around, though, because you will want these special scalloped potatoes on your table all year ’round.

Start with slicing the five large russet potatoes into circular slices. Place them in a bowl of cold water.

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Green Onion and Ham Scalloped Potatoes – Cowboy Kent Rollins

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 3 ½ cups milk
• 3 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 16 ounce tub green onion or French onion dip
• 5 russet potatoes peeled and cut tino ⅛ – ¼ -inch rounds
• 2 cups chopped cooked ham
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• Chopped green onions for topping

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-inch cast iron skillet or 9×13-inch casserole dish.
• Warm the milk and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until the butter has melted. Add the flour and cook just until it thickens to a thin gravy, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the onion dip until smooth.
• Arrange half the potatoes in the skillet or dish. Pour half the milk mixture on top. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the ha, 1 cup of mozzarella, and ½ cup of the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Repeat the layers once more.
• Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soften and the cheese has slightly browned. You can brown the cheese more by broiling for a couple of minutes, or moving the skillet to the top oven rack at the end of baking. Top with green onions and serve.

While the potatoes soak, we are going to add milk, butter, and flour to make a roux-type gravy. Stir continuously to avoid scorching. Now, for the secret ingredient! Dean’s onion dip. Stir into the roux until smooth.

Tip: You can use any onion or green onion dip if you can’t find Dean’s. You can find out where to buy Dean’s Onion Dip here.

Green Bean Casserole

Take about six cooked and crumbled slices of bacon and add half a stick of Kerrygold butter with 8 oz. of diced white mushrooms in a second Dutch oven. Brown the mushrooms until soft and then add four minced garlic cloves.

Tip: Add the minced garlic right before you remove from heat to avoid burning.

Pour the mushroom mixture into a bowl. Using the same Dutch oven you just used to make the mushroom mixture, add the other half of the stick of Kerrygold butter. Add the flour to make a roux, whisking constantly over low heat.

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Green Bean Casserole – Cowboy Kent Rollins

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. fresh green beans or frozen
• 6 slices bacon thinly sliced and chopped
• 1 white onion thinly sliced
• 1 cup diced mushrooms
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 stick butter divided
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 ½ cups shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 2 ounce jar diced pimentos
• ¾ cup bread crumbs
• ½ cup fried onions

Instructions

• If using fresh green beans, blanch in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, then remove from the pot and cover with ice water and set aside.
• In a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat add the bacon and cook for about 2 minutes, then add the onions, continue to cook until the onions are soft, stirring occasionally. Strain the contents of the skillet in a bowl and set aside.
• Return to the skillet with the left over bacon grease over medium low heat. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until they are brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add the contents of the skillet to the bacon and onions bowl.
• Return to the skillet and melt the ½ stick of butter over low heat. Whisk in the flour and whisk constantly until smooth. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until it thickens.
• Stir in the cream and the bacon mixture. Stir in the cheese and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and smooth. The mixture should be the consistency of a thick gravy. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a little more cream or chicken broth to thin if needed.
• Stir the bacon and mushroom mixture and pimentos into the sauce and mix well.
• Place the green beans in 9×11-inch inch casserole dish and pour the contents of the skillet over the top and smooth it out with a spoon.
• Sprinkle the top with the bread crumbs and fried onions. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F or until bubbling. Serve warm.

Double Dutch

I want the green bean casserole hot to serve, but all of the ingredients inside are already cooked, so I can use lower heat. Instead of spreading coals over a new area, I’m going to place a trivet on top of the Dutch oven with the potatoes inside. The coals from the bottom lid will heat the Dutch oven with the green beans inside. Then, spread coals on the lid of the green beans and let them cook until they’re done.

As usual, every once in a while during the cooking process, rotate the Dutch oven one way and the lid the other way on each dish. This will prevent hot spots.

Mama’s Marshmallow Cranberry Salad

I don’t remember a single Thanksgiving or Christmas without this dish on the table. Start the night before. Take fresh cranberries and chop with a food processor or chopping tool. Place them in a bowl with sugar and stir until well mixed. Let sit overnight. This will take the edge off of the tartness of the cranberries.

Using a stand mixer, or a drill with a whisk attachment, whip some heavy cream in a large bowl. When the whipped cream has peaks, stir in last night’s cranberry/sugar mixture.

Add chopped pecans, crushed pineapple, and the most important ingredients: mini marshmallows. Stir well. Leave in the ice box for about an hour and serve.

We hope you have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving every day, with all of the people that you love. We love sharing our food with you and are so grateful that you watch our videos and visit the website.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Come back every Wednesday afternoon for a new video. We’ll be waiting for you! See y’all down the Thanksgiving trail.

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Cranberry Salad – Cowboy Kent Rollins

Prep Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 7 hours hours

Servings 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

• 4 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 10-ounce package mini marshmallows
• 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup chopped pecans optional

Instructions

• In a food processor or blender, coarsely grind the cranberries. Mix in 1 cup of the sugar. Cover and place in the icebox for 6 hours or overnight.
• In a large bowl, whip the cream with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar until stiff.
• Fold in the cranberries, marshmallows, pineapple and pecans, if using.
• Cover and place in the icebox for 1 hour or until chilled. Serve cold.