Thanksgiving dinner is famous for leaving its victims passed out in food comas. Dads doze on the couch with the day’s football game serenading their dreams of tryptophan-loaded turkey as aunts and uncles dive into their fifth gravy-soaked serving of mashed potatoes. The entrees we enjoy each year are relatively constant throughout celebrating households: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce are all Thanksgiving staples. However, many households place their unique spin on these dishes, passing their “secret recipes” down generations. Thankfully, a few members of the CHS staff and Dialogue Team have agreed to share step-by-step instructions and/or ingredients for their family’s signature Thanksgiving dish! Although this year’s holiday has already passed, feel free to draw inspiration from these recipes!

Cave’s Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients: 

1 package of cranberries, 

4/5 medium sized pippin apples

1 cup of water

1¼ cups of sugar

The Cave family’s cranberry sauce recipe demonstrates enormous attention to detail, specifying the exact type of apple to include. It pays off in a delicious dish! 

Steps: Pour water, cranberries, and sliced apples into a pot – bring water to boil so that the cranberries pop (takes 15-20 minutes). Once popped, strain all contents from water. Put the contents in a saucepan and add sugar. 

Mr. Cantagallo’s Chicken Divan

A lesser known dish, Chicken Divan is a casserole commonly composed of layered broccoli, chicken, and a cheesy sauce. Mr. Cantagallo has been kind enough to share his family’s secret chicken divan recipe. Let’s take a look at how CHS’s principal feasts during the glorious four day Thanksgiving break!

Ingredients:

6 cooked chicken breasts

3-10 ounces of frozen broccoli

3 cans of cream of mushroom soup

1 cup of mayo

½ cup of milk

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Cheddar cheese

Bread crumbs

Directions: Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 45 minutes.   

Gunning’s Texas Potatoes

Texas Potatoes are a cheesy, creamy, and breaded dish similar to the mashed potatoes present at most Thanksgiving dinners! 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 8 oz. condensed cream of chicken soup

(can use 2 cans – I saw a recipe that said use 2 cans)

1 pint sour cream (or can use 8 oz – if 2 cans soup/8oz sour cream)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 pkg hash brown shredded potatoes, frozen (thawed) (2 lbs) –

1 ½ pkg OK too – maybe more sour cream

1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:

-Combine all of the above and put in a pyrex baking pan.

-Crushed corn flakes with some more melted butter.

-Top the casserole with crushed corn flakes.

-Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

The Uglialoro Family’s Pecan-Chocolate Chip Pie

Among my family, the pecan-chocolate chip pie is a favorite. The sweet chocolate coupled with the crunch of the pecans makes for a coveted desert! 

Ingredients:

1½ cups of pecans

1 pie crust

½ cup of chocolate chips

1 tablespoon of flour

3 large eggs

1 cup of light-brown sugar

1 cup of corn syrup

¼ cup of melted butter

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit 

-Spread pecans in pie crust

-In a bowl, toss chocolate chips in a pinch of flour

-Scatter chocolate chips over pecans

-In a bowl, stir together eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla extract, butter, and flour until mixed.

-Pour filling from the bowl over pecans and chocolate chips

-Bake for about 70 minutes