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Every year we tend to make the same old Thanksgiving recipes — whether we actually like them or not. Seriously, how much cranberry sauce goes to waste every year?
This time, start a fun new tradition of trying new recipes. You could try one per year or throw in a bunch at once. Keep the ones you like in a Thanksgiving recipe folder and discard the rest.
New recipes don't have to be exotic or complicated, either. You can spice up your Thanksgiving meal with easy blender recipes. Your guests will be begging to know how you got so creative. Here are a few to try this year.
Turkey vegetable gravy
You'll never go wrong with a nice thick gravy. The original recipe from cooks.com calls for pot roast, but it could be easily replaced with turkey. This is one you'll want to start the night before to give the meat time to marinate.
The recipe also calls for red wine, which not everyone will have stocked in their cupboards. This ingredient can be replaced a number of ways, including with vegetable stock, grape juice or cranberry juice.
If your blender isn't large enough for all your ingredients and you're worried about even consistency, blend two to three cups at a time, pour everything in a bowl together, then remeasure and blend again. For the full recipe, visit cooks.com.
Blue cheese dip with vegetables
If you're looking for ways to incorporate more veggies into your Thanksgiving meal, consider whipping up blue cheese dip with vegetables. It could also be made a day ahead or the morning of Thanksgiving, as refrigeration helps blend the flavors.
Betty Crocker suggests serving this dip in hollowed out bell peppers, which are festively colored and could make an interesting centerpiece for a buffet table. For the full recipe, visit bettycrocker.com.
Garlic mashed potatoes
Anyone can tell you that one of the most time-consuming tasks on Thanksgiving (besides making the turkey) is preparing the mashed potatoes. By the time you've peeled those potatoes, cooked and mashed them, your arms are aching from repetitive motions and you've practically run out of time to make anything else.
This blender recipe is a delicious twist on traditional baked potatoes, and here's an idea: after boiling them, stick them in a blender with all their ingredients and let the blender do the rest. You'll save yourself time, and the result will be perfectly creamy potatoes. For the full recipe, visit foodnetwork.com.
Pumpkin pie milkshake
It's pumpkin pie. No, it's a shake. No, it's a pie! This recipe is going to rock your world. If you love pumpkin pie, you'll love this fun, festive take on it, which can be made much more quickly than baking a whole pie in the oven.
You can even make it healthier by using reduced-fat vanilla ice cream and fat-free milk (but let's be honest, we aren't really thinking about calories on Thanksgiving).
The really intrepid might even try blending up their own pumpkin rather than using the canned variety. It's your choice. For the full recipe, visit myrecipes.com.
Black bean hummus
Want to keep those watching the sporting events away from your kitchen while you put the finishing touches on the meal? Look no further than the black bean hummus dip.
Let the blender take your black beans to an entire new level of pureed delciousness. Add some garlic and few more items and in a short time you've made the perfect dip to keep those premature food snatchers away from the kitchen while without spoiling Thanksgiving dinner. Visit blendtec.com.
Whatever you decide to make, we hope these ideas will faciliate your cooking and help you wow your loved ones without stressing. Katie Nielsen received her bachelor's in English with an emphasis in technical writing. She has taught English and is a published writer.
