Eat.Live.Blog.

Thank you to Good to Know & Unilever Spreads for sponsoring this post. Find delicious recipes and learn more about Unilever spreads by visiting www.itisgoodtoknow.com. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective.

I am pretty sure Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday to cook for. When I am planning what to make for Turkey Day (in addition to turkey, of course) I want to make something that tastes like home…if that makes sense. But I also want to make something that stands out from the rest of the childhood favorites on the table.

If your family meal is anything like ours, the chances are it is extremely carb heavy. So, I decided to create a veggie dish that would be subtle enough to blend in with the rest of the meal, but different enough that everyone will want the recipe. If I do say so myself… I nailed it with this Fall Veggie Hash. While it still has the requisite carbs, it tastes fresh and light…and has a sprinkling of green to make you feel better!

And no Thanksgiving is complete without mashed potatoes and gravy! I make these mashed potatoes quite often at home, but only make the gravy when the occasion calls for it. If you are using canned gravy…STOP! Making your own is far too easy and far too delicious. There is a nasty rumor going around that I may have eaten quite a bit of this gravy with a spoon…don’t judge me…

A note about using spreads in place of butter: A little fact about my kitchen. I NEVER have real butter in my kitchen. For as long as I can remember, I have always had a spread in my fridge in place of butter. I cook with them, bake with them, I do everything that calls for butter with them. More often than not, the spread in my fridge is I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light. So when the opportunity came to write about cooking with a spread, I was happy to do it. I think it is such an easy, painless way to cook just a little bit healthier.

Fall Vegetable Hash Recipe

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• Optional: 3 strips of thick cut bacon (diced)
• 2 Tbsp I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (I use the light version)
• 6 brussel sprouts (washed and diced)
• 1/2 large Idaho potato (washed and diced into small squares, skin still on)
• 1/2 large sweet potato (washed, peeled and diced into small squares)
• 1/2 small onion (peeled and diced)
• 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• Optional: 4 – 10 dashes of hot sauce (my favorite is Sylvia’s)

Directions:

1. Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat
2. Add bacon and cook until all pieces are crispy (if you are using it. If not, skip to step 5)
3. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from the pan to a plate lined with paper towels. Set bacon aside
4. Drain oil from pan, but do not clean the pan
5. Return the pan to the heat and add 1 Tbsp of the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and melt
6. Add brussel sprouts, both potatoes, onion, broth and half the hot sauce (if you are using it)
7. Stir well and cover
8. Cook over medium-high heat with the lid on for 5 minutes, stir, add remaining tablespoon of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and cover again with lid. Cook, covered, for an additional 5 minutes.
9. Remove lid and stir well.
10. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the remaining hot sauce if desired. Add the cooked bacon if using.
11. Turn heat up to high and cook, stirring frequently, until hash begins to brown
12. Enjoy alongside your Thanksgiving meal!

Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 large Idaho Potatoes (peeled and cut in eighths)
• Water
• 1 Tbsp Adobo Seasoning
• 2 Tbsp I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (I use light)
• 2 Tbsp sour cream (I use light)
• 1/4 cup milk
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place potatoes in a large pot and add water to 1 inch above the potatoes and add Adobo to the water
2. Place pot over high heat
3. Once the water begins to boil, cook until a fork can easily be inserted all the way through the potatoes (about 15 minutes)
4. When potatoes are cooked, drain them of all water and return the potatoes to the pot
5. Add I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, sour cream and milk
6. Mix with a hand mixer until potatoes are your desired consistency. If you would like them a little creamier, add a dash more milk and a dash more I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
7. Add salt and pepper to taste, and mix in seasoning

Poultry Gravy Recipe

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (I use Light)
• 2 Tbsp All purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of drippings from cooking a turkey or chicken
• 3/4 cup chicken or turkey broth

Directions

1. In a small pot, melt I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter over medium-low heat
2. Just before it is completely melted, add flour and stir continuously until the mixture forms a smooth ball
3. Mix together pan drippings and broth
4. Pour 1/8 of the mixture into the pot with the flour mixture and stir well until all lumps are gone
5. Repeat the above step until you have the desired consistency of your gravy (it is going to thicken a tad more from the heat)
6. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes
7. Serve over your mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing…over straight from the spoon….

Thank you to Good to Know & Unilever Spreads for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.