More Last Minute Thanksgiving Dinner Dish Ideas

Whether you are hosting Thanksgiving Day dinner or you are going to someone else's home, you may find yourself in need of a dish you can make quickly. You do not want to bring the obviously store bought pumpkin pie in a box. Or, perhaps you would gladly do so, but the grocery store is, gasp, closed for the holiday. Whether you want to or find yourself in need of actually preparing something presentable yourself, consider the following quick Thanksgiving dish ideas.

The Vast Array of Veggies

For a quick vegetable and dip tray, cut up some carrots, bell peppers (green, red, and yellow if you have them to add more color), and cauliflower or other favorite vegetables. Pour some of your favorite salad dressing (ranch style is a popular vegetable dip) into a bowl and place it in the center of the plate of vegetables.

For a more exotic touch, purchase hummus dip and use in place of the salad dressing. If you have a food processor, making your own hummus dip is simple. Look for a highly rated recipe on a website such as allrecipes.com.

The Unspun Salad

Don't have one of those handy salad spinners? Not to worry. Buy bagged, pre-washed salad. Romaine lettuce and spinach have lots of nutrients whereas iceberg lettuce does not. Romaine and spinach greens are also more attractive and more, well, green. Sometimes there are sales on the bagged lettuces that make them less expensive than buying a whole head of lettuce in the produce section.

Dump the greens into a nice salad bowl, sprinkle on some dried cranberries and walnut pieces, and you have an instant tasty gourmet salad.

The Crass Cranberry Sauce

Buy several cans of the cranberry sauce that actually appears to have real cranberries in it. Mix it up in a nice bowl so that it looks as though you may have actually made the cranberry sauce yourself. To add serving appeal, place a sprig of fresh mint on top.

If, on the other hand, you do not want to impress the people you are having Thanksgiving dinner with (perhaps these are your snippy in-laws), consider offering a dish that shows you frankly don't give a damn about cooking. Perhaps your in-laws expect you to make wonderful meals from scratch for your family simply because of your female gender. The gelatinous dark purple glob of "cranberry sauce" served with the ridges from the can still showing might be perfect for this occasion.