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This is America’s least favorite Thanksgiving food

Picture this likely scenario: You’re at Thanksgiving dinner, piling your plate high with all the season’s most delicious sides. But between your mile-high heap of mashed potatoes, that seriously large scoop of stuffing, and a gravy-smothered stack of turkey breast slices, you realize there just isn’t room for every side on that plate. So what gives? Well, if you’re like many Americans, there is one dish you can easily pass on. Perhaps not surprisingly, the least-loved Thanksgiving food is canned cranberry sauce. Yup, that gelatinous, wiggly can-shaped side, just doesn’t do it for most people, according to Instacart’s Turkey Day Exposé. Nearly half of Americans (46%) say that canned cranberry sauce is “disgusting.” Maybe it’s the tin-shape that turns people off, as 31% of Americans reported serving their cranberries right out of the can (as opposed to mashing it up). If this is your household, try making cranberry sauce using…

What’s the difference between stuffing and dressing?

For carb-lovers, stuffing is the ultimate thanksgiving side dish. That delicious blend of bread, celery, onions and seasonings when smothered with gravy and served atop roast turkey is truly a feast to be thankful for. (Heck. Forget the turkey! I’d be happy with stuffing alone!) That said, while we all unanimously seem to agree that stuffing reigns supreme, what we disagree on is what to call it. Some people say stuffing. Others call it dressing. So what gives? Avoid these 8 common stuffing mistakes. Well, historically, some people used the terms to note the difference between stuffing (cooked inside the bird) and dressing (cooked outside of the bird, likely in a baking dish). But this wasn’t really ever “official.” Dictionaries no longer even really distinguish the two. The difference in the terminology is actually due to regional dialects. Though both dishes contain the same ingredients, if you’re from a southern…

How to make turkey gravy without the drippings

Thanksgiving dinner just wouldn’t be the same without a generous pour of delicious gravy to soak through that stuffing and bring the whole plate together. But with the popularity of deep fried or air-fried turkeys, some folks are wondering how they too can have homemade gravy (usually made with the leftover drippings from the baked bird). So how do you make homemade turkey gravy without the drippings? What are drippings? In case you’re confused about drippings, let me give a quick explanation. Drippings are the liquid that falls from the bird into the pan as the meat roasts. That liquid caramelizes and browns and takes on a deep, rich flavor (it’s what gives gravy almost all of its flavor). You would take those drippings and add butter, flour, broth, and some seasonings, and whisk that into a delicious gravy. So how to make gravy without drippings? You can still…

How much turkey should you buy per person? And other turkey questions, answered

There are a lot of decisions the Thanksgiving host has to make. Cranberry sauce; fresh or canned? A side of carrots or corn? Pumpkin or apple pie? (That answer there is easy. Both!). But perhaps the most important question of them all: How many pounds of turkey do I need to buy? How much turkey should i buy per person? As a rule of thumb, you should aim for about 1 1/2 pounds of turkey per person. Don’t forget that number takes into considering the weight of the bones, giblets, and a bit of leftovers too. That means, if you’re having 8 adult guests, you’re going to want a 12 pound turkey. Of course, if you have a bunch of big eaters or turkey lovers — or think you might get a few unexpected last minute guests — you’ll want to go up from there. When should you buy your turkey?…

The most-Googled Thanksgiving recipe in each state

Each November when the leaves start to fall, we turn our attention to the upcoming Thanksgiving feast. But while we all look forward to plates piled high with food, what’s on those plates can vary greatly from region to region. Cooks everywhere turn to the internet to make sure they’re ready with recipes that will please their guests. Satelliteinternet.com analyzed all of those food-related searches to find out which states are mostly likely to each which dish. It’s no surprise that turkey was the most-Googled Thanksgiving dish across America, but beyond that, plenty of cooks were looking for other advice. And depending where you live, you were definitely more likely to search for different dishes. Green bean casserole and corn casseroles were the next most-searched recipes after turkey, with a particularly heavy following in the Midwest. Other searches were more localized. For instance, Vermonters seems to include ambrosia salad in…

This Turkey Veggie Tray will be the talk of Thanksgiving

Bring this tasty veggie turkey tray to your Thanksgiving Day gathering and everyone will gobble it up! It’s super simple to assemble, and a fun way to snack healthy before devouring what’s likely to be a belt-busting feast. You can get creative and use nearly any veggie you might have on hand, but here’s what I included in mine: Cucumber slices carrots red peppers yellow peppers cauliflower peas Assemble vegetables, in rows, on a large round platter. Then, just pick up a container of ranch dip (or make your own), cut an adorable turkey face, and you’re all set! For more details, watch the how-to video above. Gobble Gobble! Also check out: 17 Thanksgiving recipes you don’t want to miss! Also see, The first TV Dinner was a Thanksgiving feast. Follow us on Instagram.

8 common stuffing mistakes that could ruin your holiday dinner

Okay, maybe “ruin” is a bit dramatic, but that doesn’t mean you and your guests won’t be disappointed with dry or less-than-stellar stuffing. This classic Thanksgiving dinner dish — with its familiar flavors of onion, celery, and herbs mixing with crispy, chewy, buttery bread — is well-loved, but it’s also easy to mess up, so be sure to avoid these 8 common stuffing mistakes: 1. You make it on Thanksgiving Day Don’t wait until Thanksgiving day to start your stuffing. Your bread base — whether it’s a bread loaf, cornbread, bagels or even waffles — needs to be dry and stale, so let it sit out for at least a day or two before you begin. If your bread is still moist, your stuffing will be soggy. 2. You try to save calories If you’re looking to keep your Thanksgiving meal within a certain calorie count, perhaps you could cut…

8 ways to save money on your Thanksgiving meal budget

For all the attention the stress and craziness of cooking on Thanksgiving receives, we often fail to acknowledge the other downside of being the designated host: the cost. If you’re on a tight budget it can seem nearly impossible to pull of a feast with all of the fixin’s guests have come to expect. This Thanksgiving, you’ll be thankful you followed these 10 tips for saving money on your Turkey Day grocery bill. 1.  Set a budget — and don’t budge from it! It’s easy to go overboard on extras when planning a holiday meal, after all, you want to show your loved ones you appreciate them. But don’t feel pressure to recreate the lavish spread you saw in Martha Stewart magazine. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the average American Thanksgiving meal for 10 costs $48.90 — that’s less than $5 per person!  If you’re about to blow…

Should you wash a turkey before cooking it?

You MUST resist. Yes, poultry doesn’t exactly seem super clean, but no matter how gross or how slimy that bird feels, whatever you do, do not wash your turkey. More than 46 million turkeys will be eaten this Thanksgiving Day, and with that comes one of the biggest days of the year for food borne illnesses. With so many different foods being stored, rinsed, prepared, and cooked all in the same space, it’s easy to imaging how cross contamination can happen. But the easiest way to spread illness-causing bacteria? Washing the turkey. But why? According to the USDA, rinsing your turkey, whether fresh or frozen, will not get rid of that unwanted bacteria on your bird — in fact, that’s pretty much impossible to do without the high heat of the oven (more on that later). Actually it’s washing your turkey that increases the chance of spreading that bacteria. This…

Beet apple walnut fall harvest salad

Farmers markets everywhere are still brimming with vibrant beets and crunchy apples. Put them together in this delicious Beet Apple Walnut Fall Harvest salad. See what else is still in season in November.  The crisp combo of tart apples and earthy sweet roasted beets is the perfect way to continue to enjoy the best flavors of fall as we head into the second half of the season. Serve as a side salad to your weeknight meal or earmark this one as a fresh new surprise for the Thanksgiving table. It’s easy enough and pretty enough for just about any occasion. But don’t think this salad is just about looks. Beets are a low calorie root veggie with an impressive record: they can help keep your blood pressure in check, improve athletic performance, fight inflammation, improve digestion, support brain health, and they may even have some cancer fighting potential thanks to…