A friend of mine gave me this recipe that she says is a huge hit at her Thanksgiving. I'm planning to make it.

Saute one chopped white onion and 1 lb. sliced yellow squash in one stick of butter. Combine with 3x 15 oz. cans hominy (drained), 1 lb. cubed pepper jack, 1 tsp salt. and 1 pt. sour cream. Top with 1/2 lb. shredded cheddar and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

I also make a sweet potato casserole that's basically a dessert (and treated as such). It's really very good.

https://www.food.com/recipe/rum-and-sweet-potato-casserole-216969

Lasagna bolognese
Homemade rosemary focaccia
Roasted baby potatoes
Caesar salad

This is always a hit:
https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/cheesy-root-vegetable-gratin/

My kids request the Pillsbury Grands rolls. We rarely have them but they love them so having them at Thanksgiving and Christmas make it special.
We have some traditional thanksgiving fare; but not pumpkin pie or yam people at all.
Dessert: apple pie with vanilla ice cream (one kid doesn't like pie); or trifle, but also ice cream because the kid who doesn't like pie also doesn't like trifle; or cheesecake and a pie option (bot kids and I like cheesecake but my husband doesn't). Sigh. Thanksgiving is a lot of work in my family.

Anonymous wrote:Interested in getting out of the depressing cage of traditional Thanksgiving that I have lived in each year.

I am seeking ideas for Thanksgiving foods that are not the same turkey, ham, greens, yams, sweet potato pie that I have always made. I’m the OP of the OT thread abo it Thanksgiving (https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1238690.page). Hoping to cheer up my experience and expectation.

Chicken pot pie. My daughter requests this because she doesn't like turkey. or ham. or steak.

Anonymous wrote:Interested in getting out of the depressing cage of traditional Thanksgiving that I have lived in each year.

I am seeking ideas for Thanksgiving foods that are not the same turkey, ham, greens, yams, sweet potato pie that I have always made. I’m the OP of the OT thread abo it Thanksgiving (https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1238690.page). Hoping to cheer up my experience and expectation.

Prime Rib

Shrimp cocktail
Salad made with kale, thinly sliced Brussels, almonds or walnuts, dried cranberries, and Parmesan
Roasted squash and root vegetables

Beef tenderloin
Garlic mashed potatoes
Roasted Brussels sprouts and baby carrots
Apple crisp or store bought apple pie.

We don’t do a traditional Thanksgiving menu

My kids are lobbying for sushi.

Anonymous wrote:https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-thanksgiving-slaw-237475

We add thin apple slices and celery. Everyone likes something fresh and crisp to balance the richness of the rest of the menu, and this works better than a green salad.

This is exactly what I was looking for this year! Thank you so much for posting it.

I make an amazing kale, butternut squash, pomegranate, pumpkin seed salad. I made it once several years ago and it's been requested for every holiday meal since. It's nice because it's seasonal but also much fresher than the other Thanksgiving fare.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/kale-salad-with-roasted-butternut-squash-pomegranate-and-pumpkin-seeds

Also a wild rice, cranberry, walnut, mushroom dish. I think it might be this recipe from NYTimes cooking but my subscription lapsed so I can't tell. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/241-wild-rice-with-mushrooms-cranberries-and-walnuts

Lentil loaf
Root vegetable soup
Roasted Brussels and mushrooms