Roast Vegetables and Garlic Mashed Potatoes are the perfect Thanksgiving side dishes.roast chicken-1-10

I will be sharing Thanksgiving recipes for the month of November until Thanksgiving Day so be sure to subscribe so you won’t miss a thing. Subscribe by entering you email in the form on the side bar. So far I’ve shared my Herb Roasted Chicken and Grapes and a simple brine for those that love to brine their poultry like I do. The side dishes are just as important as the main dishes so it’s important to show them a little tlc as well. I’m sharing two simple side dishes for your Thanksgiving table. roast chicken-1-6The first being Maple Roasted Vegetables; I love this dish since it’s fairly easy to make but tastes great! It’s light so it goes well with the overall meal since a lot of Thanksgiving dishes tend to be a bit rich. I used a combination of Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and butternut squash, then added a bit of maple to give it a hint of sweetness. roast chicken-1-4Next up, we have Garlic Mashed Potatoes which is a more decadent side dish as it has butter and cream. I was a bit light on the butter but you can add more if you like. One tip for making garlic mashed potatoes is to boil the garlic with the potatoes; the garlic becomes soft enough to be mashed with easy while flavoring the potatoes. These garlic potatoes are great on their own or with a spoonful of gravy!
What are your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes?

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Maple Roasted Vegetables
1 lb Brussels sprouts
1/4 lb cauliflower florets
1/2 lb butternut squash cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place vegetables on 2 sheet pans and toss with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper over vegetables then place in oven and bake for 25 minutes. Pour maple syrup over vegetables and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and gently stir. Serve warm.

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes
8 medium Idaho potatoes
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp butter
2/3 cup heavy cream
Salt
Water
Peel potatoes and cut into 2 inch pieces then place in a large pot. Add garlic cloves to the pot then add 1 tsp salt and cool water to the pot, covering the potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until potatoes are soft when poked with a knife. Strain the potatoes and place into a bowl. Add butter and heavy cream and use a potato masher to mash the potatoes and garlic cloves. There will be a few lumps; if you prefer a smoother texture then use a ricer instead of a potato masher. Add salt to taste.