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I love Thanksgiving!   

I am grateful for the abundance that a Fall Harvest brings after our farmers have worked so hard, Spring and Summer, to provide us with the food that nourishes us.

I am also most grateful for family and friends, and Thanksgiving is a time to share what we have without all the pressure and fuss and madness in December (you know what I mean).

Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone. It was a different one for us this year. I didn’t end up cooking our turkey until after the weekend. We had bacon and tomato sandwiches and leftovers. For good reason! I wanted to be outdoors while the weather was good and my mom and dad were visiting with us, so we celebrated by hanging out all day at Johnson’s Cranberry Marsh. It was perfect and we still had our turkey. Eventually. 

This year we're missing our annual trip to extended family for American Thanksgiving. It’s a wonderful reunion. Our hosts cook lots of food—they are both passionate and amazing cooks—and we help by adding some of our own favourite dishes to the mix.

Since I feel so blessed to have them in my life and I'm feeling sorry that we'll miss out this year (it's okay, I'm sure they'll be sharing photos with us) I decided I’d share some of the recipes I would consider whipping up to add to their buffet. 

Plus, I’m guessing that you may be thinking about or already planning your meal and searching for recipes. Well, these are definitely ones you should check out. 

I hope you enjoy the selection I put together. All the recipes are from the cookbook and I need to apologize that I don't have them posted in a printer-friendly format for the moment. I'm going to do that though and will update this. For now this is a good start. Especially since it was so hard to decide what to pick from all the recipes I love. 

There are so many I wanted to include but I went with these since they will go well with almost anything you’ve already planned for your menu.

Awesome Appetizer
First item on the list is this recipe for lovely little quinoa fritters. They are so good that we have them for dinner sometimes--with soup and salad. 

They make a lovely and very satisfying nibble. You can make them ahead and reheat them in the oven before serving, or serve them room temperature.

And of course, if you aren't a bacon fan or prefer a lighter vegetarian version, skip the bacon. They'll turn out just as delicious. 

Scrumptious Satisfying Soup
I love starting a celebration meal with soup. We make soup often and usually double the recipe so that we have some in the fridge to enjoy during the week. 

This soup is so full of flavour and it celebrates the best of the season. If you are planning on cooking a big feast, you can serve small bowls of this, or serve in espresso cups as an appetizer (be prepared, people will ask for a second shot for sure). 

Feeding a crowd? Fiesta Strata!
Then this is the recipe for you. This makes a great side dish when you have lots of guests. It's budget friendly, packed with flavour and fully satisfying. This strata can be made ahead too. Happy weekend!

Best Meatless Main for All
I am a first generation Canadian with a wonderful Greek heritage where food and celebrations are a huge part of the culture. I  cook Greek food often at home and have plans to post all about my trip to Greece this past summer and what I experienced when there. Delicious and so wonderful. 

Roast Chicken and Potatoes is a classic Greek meal flavoured to tangy-licious heights with lemon, oregano and olive oil. When I wanted that great flavour in a meatless version I came up with this recipe. It is authentic and so good that it will satisfy all tastes. 

It's easy to prepare as an additional dish to your Thanksgiving menu that will be perfect for those fans of meatless mains. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Spice is Nice!
None of these recipes are exclusively just for Thanksgiving. We cook them year round at home. This cake is a great treat to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea anytime. It is very aromatic and moist. You can serve in small portions as part of a dessert selection, or in a standard portion with a scoop of ice cream if you wish. 

And when it's all said and done...
Bring on the Brunch!
I've added this absolutely decadent and wonderful savoury cheesecake recipe for those of you who like to carry your Thanksgiving Celebration into a two day event. This is a wonderful dish to serve for brunch or lunch.

A serving of this goes a long way so you only need to add a few more ingredients to your menu to create a balanced meal. I like including a big bowl of mixed greens salad with lemony vinaigrette, a selection of fruit, and some lovely bread rolls or a crusty loaf of sourdough.  

You can make this vegetarian by skipping the bacon and topping the cheesecake with finely sliced chives or green onions just before serving.

That's it for now. 
I'm so happy to share these recipes from my cookbook with you and I hope you try one or two--or all!

From my home, to your home, Eat at Home, wishing you all the best, xo.