This Thanksgiving will be our first one away from both of our families and we’ll be spending it together in Germany because Timmer will be on call. We do have another Ortho couple coming over for our Thanksgiving meal and we are so excited to finally have a house big enough to host! We’ll be cooking turkey, ham, and a bunch of sides, but for now I wanted to reshare an old post that includes two quick Thanksgiving recipes.
The first is an easy appetizer: mini baked brie bites. These take no time at all to make, and are a great last minute dish to bring to parties. The second recipe is a green bean & asparagus casserole. It’s from scratch but it’s very easy. I used fresh veggies but canned works fine too if you don’t have a chance to run to the store.
Mini Baked Brie Bites
Ingredients
1 PACKAGE MINI PHYLLO SHELLS
BRIE CHEESE
1/2 CUP CRANBERRY SAUCE
1/4 CUP PISTACHIOS, CRUSHED
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the brie into 1/2 inch cubes (this doesn’t have to be perfect) and place one cube into each of the shells. Bake for 5 minutes or until the brie is melted. Remove the shells from the oven and top each one with a spoonful of cranberry sauce and a sprinkle of pistachios. YUM!
Green Bean & Asparagus Casserole
Ingredients
GREEN BEANS
ASPARAGUS
BUTTER
1/2 ONION, CHOPPED
3 CLOVES OF GARLIC, CHOPPED
1/2 CUP MUSHROOMS, CHOPPED
3 TABLESPOONS BUTTER
1/4 CUP FLOUR
2 CUPS MILK
1/2 CUP PARMESAN CHEESE
FRIED ONIONS
If you’re using fresh veggies, chop off the ends of the green beans and the bottoms of the asparagus. You can chop those pieces into halves or thirds if you want as well, whichever you prefer. Place the beans and asparagus into a pot of boiling water, and cook for about 3-5 minutes, until they are slightly tender. Then drain the vegetables and set them aside.
If using canned or frozen vegetables, drain them and set them aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In one skillet, melt some butter and add the onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook until the onions are a nice golden brown, and then remove from heat and set aside for now.
Next, in another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk the mixture over medium low heat for a few minutes. Then slowly whisk in the milk until it thickens into a nice sauce. Add in the parmesan cheese, and the onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Finally, add a little salt and pepper, and maybe some chili powder or whatever other seasoning you think would taste great.
Place the vegetables into a casserole dish. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and mix well. If you want, sprinkle some more parmesan cheese on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Garnish with fried onions & enjoy!
For another quick appetizer, check out my spinach & artichoke dip recipe. Happy Thanksgiving! XO