Thanksgiving Recipes

About eight years ago, when my husband and I moved from a tiny shoebox of an apartment to our current home, my two sisters-in-law and I got together and divided the three main holidays between us. I got, and still have, Easter. Which I'm thankful for, because a ham, to me, is less stressful than a turkey. Anyway, even though we have "our" holidays, we each still contribute to the holiday meal. What I'm often asked to bring is a dessert and/or a side dish. So here are two never-fail recipes that I traditionally roll out during each holiday and will be throwing together yet again this year when my brood and I trek over to my sister-in-law's home for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

Three Corn Casserole

A super easy, super yummy side dish that's virtually foolproof. Everything goes together in one bowl and bakes for a sweet side that's popular across all age groups.

You'll need:
•1/2 C butter, softened
•1 C sour cream
•1 egg
•1 16-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
•1 16-ounce can cream style corn
•1 9-ounce package corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)

To make the casserole:
•Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F) and grease a one quart casserole dish well.
•Mix together butter, sour cream and egg.
•Stir in both corns.
•Blend in dry muffin mix.
•Spoon mix into the greased casserole dish.
•Bake one hour, until casserole is puffed up and golden brown on top. Makes around ten servings.

Layered Pudding Dessert

This one is a recipe that's been in my family for as long as I can remember. I've heard it called by many names: the Robert Redford Dessert (I'm really not sure how this one came about), Slush Cake, and Better-Than-Sex Cake (no, I'm not making this up; I've heard it called that before!). My brother-in-law simply calls it "that pudding stuff you bring." Whatever you decide to call it, know that it's not much more than dressed up box pudding mix and cool whip and that it's always a hit.

First Layer:
•1 C flour
•1 stick of butter, melted
•2 T sugar
•1/4 C chopped pecans

Mix the above together, press into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees (F) for 15 minutes.

Second Layer:
•1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
•1 package instant vanilla pudding (can use 1 C powdered sugar in place of)
•1/4 C milk

Cream the above together, then fold in 1 cup of Cool Whip (or similar whipped topping). Spread this over the cooled, baked first layer.

Third Layer:
Blend together 2 packages instant pudding, any flavor (my family always requests chocolate) with 3 cups of cold milk. Let partially sit in fridge until slightly thick, about five minutes.Then spoon over second cream cheese layer.

Fourth Layer:
Top pudding layer with 1 sixteen-ounce container of Cool Whip (or other whipped topping). Cover the dessert tightly, then place in fridge for at least an hour, or until you're ready to serve. You can "dress up" the dessert by sprinkling a few chopped pecans over the top or giving it a dusting of cocoa powder.

That's it. You now have two more recipes in your arsenal to pull out when someone requests a side dish or dessert for your next gathering. What about you, MomVesting readers? What is your go-to recipe for the holiday season?

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