Thanksgiving made simple

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Whether it’s Thanksgiving with family or Friendsgiving with others, no one wants to spend a lot of time making everything that goes with the turkey. Here are three easy and delicious side dishes.

 

 

Green beans with Parmesan-garlic breadcrumbs

 

If green bean casserole isn’t your thing, try green beans with these flavored breadcrumbs.

 

Pro tip: If you brown the butter before adding it to the bread crumbs, you’ll get a pleasant, nutty taste.

 

Ingredients

1 pound green beans, trimmed

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

3 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

 

Instructions

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in large saucepan fitted with steamer basket. Add green beans, cover and steam until tender-crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and season with salt and pepper.

 

Meanwhile, heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, swirling often, until butter starts to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until butter is nutty brown, about 30 seconds more. Stir in breadcrumbs and cook, stirring, until crispy, 3 to 4 minutes.

 

Toss the breadcrumbs with the green beans. Top with cheese.

 

Serving size: ⅔ cup each.

 

Per serving: 108 calories, 7 g fat (4 g sat), 3 g fiber, 10 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 29 mcg folate, 17 mg cholesterol, 3 g sugars, 0 g added sugars, 724 IU vitamin A, 10 mg vitamin C, 67 mg calcium, 1 mg iron, 186 mg sodium, 193 mg potassium.

 

Carbohydrate servings: ½

 

Exchanges: ½ starch, 1 vegetable, 1 fat.

 

Prep time 20 minutes, ready in 20 minutes.

 

Source: EatingWell magazine

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Maple-roasted sweet potatoes

 

Roasting sweet potatoes is easy. Adding a maple syrup glaze is an easy way to add flavor.

 

Ingredients

2½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1½-inch pieces (about 8 cups)

⅓ cup pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

 

Instructions

Heat oven to 400 F.

 

Arrange sweet potatoes in even layer in 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Combine maple syrup, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper in small bowl. Pour mixture over sweet potatoes, toss to coat.

 

Cover and bake sweet potatoes for 15 minutes. Uncover, stir and cook, stirring every 15 minutes, until tender and starting to brown, 45 to 50 minutes more.

 

If making ahead of time, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Just before serving, reheat at 350 F until hot, about 15 minutes.

 

Serving size: about ½ cup.

 

Per serving: 92 calories, 2 g fat (1 g sat), 2 g fiber, 18 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 4 mcg folate, 5 mg cholesterol, 9 g sugars, 5 g added sugars, 11,108 IU vitamin A, 12 mg vitamin C, 32 mg calcium, 0 mg iron, 119 mg sodium, 294 mg potassium.

 

Carbohydrate servings: 1

 

Exchanges: 1½ starch, ½ fat.

 

Prep time 10 minutes, ready in 1 hour, 10 minutes.

 

Source: EatingWell magazine

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Chunky cranberry sauce

 

If you don’t like the jelly-style cranberry sauce that comes out of a can, you might like this variation with chunks of whole cranberries.

 

Ingredients

1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries

1½ cups apple juice

1 cup sugar

 

Instructions

In large saucepan, combine cranberries with apple juice and sugar. Simmer over low heat until berries burst and sauce has consistency of jam, about 20 minutes. Transfer sauce to heatproof bowl, let cool, then refrigerate until chilled.

 

Makes 4 cups.

 

Total time 25 minutes.

 

Source: Food & Wine magazine