With the holiday season quickly approaching, some people are beginning to think about Thanksgiving. While for some, Thanksgiving is considered to be a time to give thanks, it is also a time to eat a large turkey dinner. The traditional holiday dinner differs between households, but the core elements are usually the same. The best part of a Thanksgiving dinner varies from person to person. Here is the Update staff’s list of the top dishes that should be added to Thanksgiving dinners this November.

Corn Bread

Ingredients:

cooking spray to grease pan

1/4 cup butter or 1/2 stick

1 cup milk

1 large egg

1 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 450°F. Spray bottom side of an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.
2. In a 1 quart saucepan, heat the butter over low heat until melted.
3. In a large bowl, beat the melted butter, milk and egg with a wire whisk until well mixed. Add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt all at once; stir just until flour is moistened.
4. Pour batter into pan; use a rubber spatula to scrape batter from bowl. Spread batter evenly in pan and smooth top batter.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Serve warm.

“It was really different from the other stuff I’ve eaten,” junior and managing opinion Sophie Baus said. The new take on the traditional pumpkin dessert eaten at Thanksgiving surprised Baus. On a scale of one to five, five being the best Baus rated this dish a three.

Peanut butter pumpkin cookie cup

Ingredients:

1 pouch of pumpkin spice cookie mix

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg

36 unwrapped Reese’s™ peanut butter cups

36 pecan halves

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium bowl, beat cookie mix, butter, and egg with a spoon or electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Shape level teaspoons of dough into 36 balls. Place a dough ball in each of the 36 ungreased mini muffin cups.
3. bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Immediately place one peanut butter cup in the center of each cookie. Cool 10 minutes; remove to cooling rack. Press a pecan half onto the top of each candy. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Green bean casserole

Ingredients:

1 10 1/2 oz can of condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/8 tsp. black pepper

4 cups cooked cut green beans

1 1/3 cup crispy fried onions

Directions:

1. Mix soup, milk, and pepper in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
2. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup crispy fried onions
3. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until hot.
4. Stir. Top with remaining onions and bake for 5 minutes or until onions are golden.

“They tasted super good,” senior and managing design, Farryn Cook said. “Mashed potatoes is one of my favorite dishes. They were super fluffy and just overall reminded me of Thanksgiving meals with my family.” Cook samples the mashed potato recipe.

Flavorful mashed potatoes

Ingredients:

8 large russet potatoes

4 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 sticks butter

4 oz sour cream

garlic salt

Directions:

1. Peel and rinse potatoes.
2. Cut potatoes into cubes and boil for 10 minutes then drain.
3. Put in mixing bowl and mash until smooth.
4. Mix in cream cheese, butter, and sour cream. Add garlic salt to taste. Add ingredients as needed.