So whoa… who fast forwarded the clock?! I swear it was just Halloween and now it’s almost Thanksgiving! It honestly didn’t dawn on me until today while I was sitting in the surgery waiting room for hours. This morning Mr. Fantabulous had to have his shoulder operated on again – yes, the same one he had operated on in May. This all stems from that car accident he and I were in last December when Bambi decided to use my car to end his life. We ended up with really similar injuries however due to the severity of mine, I had to have surgery first. Well sadly we both are still having issues with our shoulders thus we both need another surgery to correct it. Today was actually supposed to be my surgery but I sorta-kinda-okay-yes-I-chickened-out so Mr. Fantabulous went in my place. However the dr. isn’t letting me off easy – I have mine done in 4 weeks. Lovely.
Anyway, as I was sitting in the waiting room, watching Elf for the 4,769th time I was trying to figure out my next post when I overheard this one lady talking about Thanksgiving and she had no clue what to serve on the side. She was telling another lady she was tired of the same old same old and that she wanted to mix things up.
…pause went Buddy the Elf and my head perked up. Yes I was eavesdropping but c’mon it’s about food and I heart food! She was talking about how she wanted to make some type of squash but wasn’t sure how to make it or what to make.. <insert grin> I politely said “Pardon me but you could try a Roasted Maple Brown Sugar Acorn Squash or Parmesan Butternut Gratin. Both are super easy and make amazing sides!”. Then they perked up and scooched (yes it’s a word) over to where I was sitting. “Tell me more, how do you make that???” the one asked. I said “Better yet, I’ll show you!” and turned my laptop around to the website. Their eyes got as big as silver dollars and the one said “OMG I’ve never heard of this Kitchen Whisperer but her stuff looks amazing! OMG look at that!” The other said “Wow, thank you for sharing that, I wonder what else she has…” I chuckled and said “Well, you want to go outside the box, right for Thanksgiving? How about you try some of these…” and I proceeded to show them a few other sides. Their eyes got bigger and bigger as I showed them more pictures.
The best was when I showed them the Green Bean Casserole Stuffed Mushrooms! The look on their faces was awesome! It was like I told them the secrets of the world and how to lose weight while eating cheesecake! LOL
Honestly, genuine response like that – priceless. They introduced themselves and thanked me again for telling them about this Kitchen Whisperer lady. I then introduce myself by saying “I’m Lori, the Kitchen Whisperer lady and it’s so awesome to meet you!” … insert SILENCE. Then immediately Donna put two and two together and shrieked “OMG OMG OMG that’s you! You’re her! Your stuff is amazing! I can’t wait to go home and go through your site!” LOL So after that we just talked about Thanksgiving, food – lots of food and oh yeah, the surgeries our husbands were having. As Kathy was called out to go to post-op she gave me the biggest hug (then she asked if that was ok… LOL) thanking me (you’re welcome hon!). That’s when I realized I need to get my butt in gear on what I’m making for Thanksgiving and also a non-traditional side dish post for you guys.
Don’t get me wrong, mashed taters, green bean casserole and corn will be on my table but I’m thinking I need to incorporate a few non-standards – because they friggen ROCK! And of course you need sweet potatoes but I cannot stand the stuff with the roasted marshmallows on top – blech! No, I love my sweet potato casserole with sugared pecans and a drizzle of honey. OHHHMMMMGEEEEE!!! And speaking of carbs, those oven herb roasted baby potatoes – CUTEST. THING. EVER!
And dude (yes I dude’d you…) have you tried my oven roasted portabellas??? Seriously…AMAZING! Plus if you’re like me, I love mushrooms in my stuffing and gravy. Now it wasn’t a few years ago that I finally fell in love with Brussels Sprouts. This recipe with the cranberries and pecans make Brussels Sprouts the star veggie! And lastly – that creamy baked corn casserole.. speechless. Seriously, speechless! However this year I may make that the day after Thanksgiving and add in some leftover turkey and stuffing! I know, right!
So think outside the traditional and add one of these Thanksgiving Side Dishes so that they can ROCK Your Turkey Day Feast!
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