WKRG’s Thanksgiving family recipes

Summer Poole
·5 min read

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — This year, our WKRG family has so much to be thankful for. One of those things is the delicious food that comes through our newsroom.

News 5 has bimonthly potlucks. In November, our potluck theme was “family recipes.” From ham and cheese sliders to dressing and cottage pie, we had so many amazing foods to dig into.

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Here are some of the recipes for our favorite dishes:

Devon’s “Walsh Family” Mashed Potatoes

  • 5 lb. russet or Yukon Gold potatoes

  • 3/4 c. butter

  • 1 eight-ounce package cream cheese

  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup half-and-half or heavy cream

  • About 1 tsp.salt

  • About 1 tsp. black pepper

  • Peel and chop the potatoes into quarters.

  • Boil them (with a pinch of salt) until soft, about 30 minutes.

  • Drain. Return them to pot on the stove on low.

  • Use a potato masher to mash until smooth. It will take some muscle!

  • Add butter, cream cheese, ½ and ½ or cream, salt and pepper.  Stir. Let everything melt.

  • If you make it ahead, you can warm them up the next day. Just put some pats of butter on top.

  • Enjoy!

Snowden’s Sausage Balls

  • 6 cups baking mix (like Bisquick)

  • 2 lbs shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

  • 2 lbs pork sausage

  • ¼ tsp cayenne

  • 3 tsp chopped sage

  • Leave cheese and sausage out overnight to allow it to become room temperature.

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees and lightly grease baking sheet.

  • In a large bowl, combine baking mix, chopped sage and cayenne, then mix sausage and cheese.

  • Mold mixture into 1 1/2 in balls. Add milk if mixture is too dry.

  • Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

  • Let balls cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Cherish’s Brie Tartlets

  • 8oz Brie Cheese Wheel

  • 2 packages of phyllo tart shells

  • Your favorite jam or jelly

  • Your favorite chopped nuts (In my experience, chopped walnuts or almonds work best)

  • 2 ungreased cookie sheets

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  • Place tart shells on cookie sheets

  • Cut Brie cheese into tiny (1/2 inch) cubes

  • Place two to three cubes of cheese in each tart shell (You want them full, but not to the point where the cheese will run over into the pans when hot)

  • Spoon ¼ tsp of your favorite jam or jelly on the cheese

  • Top each with a pinch of your favorite chopped nuts

  • Place in oven and bake 10-12 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly

  • Remove from oven and place on serving tray. Best if served warm.

Haylee’s Cranberry Relish

  • 1 lb of cranberries

  • 1 box of orange Jello and 1 box of raspberry Jello.

  • 1 small can of crushed pineapple

  • 4-5 apples

  • 2 oranges

  • Cup of sugar

  • Mix Jello by instructions.

  • Chop all fruit into tiny pieces.

  • Combine fruit, sugar and jello in a bowl and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.

  • Enjoy!!

Caroline’s Poppy Seed Slider (makes 12)

  • 1 cup softened butter

  • 1/2 cup onion

  • 1/2 cup mustard

  • 2 tbps poppy seeds

  • 12 slider buns

  • sliced ham

  • sliced provolone and cheddar cheese

  • Stir butter, onion, mustard and poppy seeds in bowl.

  • Spread this mixture on the inside of each bun and a little on the top of each bun.

  • Add ham and cheese to each slider and wrap each slider in aluminum foil.

  • Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Summer’s Family Cornbread Dressing

  • Homemade chicken broth

  • 3/4 cup Onions

  • 1/2 cup Bell Peppers

  • Garlic

  • 3/4 cup Celery

  • 12 in skillet of Homemade cornbread

  • Ground sage

  • 1 tsp poultry seasoning

  • Cook cornbread the night before making the dressing and crumble.

  • Sautee onions, bell peppers and celery.

  • Add vegetables to crumbled cornbread along with garlic.

  • Mix well.

  • Add spices (to taste)

  • Add chicken broth and mix.

Rose Ann’s Cottage Pie

  • 1 pound lean ground beef

  • 1 onion diced

  • 2 carrots

  • 2 ribs celery

  • 2 cloves garlic minced

  • 2 tbsps flour

  • 1 1/2 cups beef broth

  • 2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 tbsp tomato paste

  • 1 tsp dried parsley

  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 2/3 cup peas

  • 1/4 tsp salt and pepper each

  • 2 pounds russet potatoes or Yukon potatoes

  • 3 tbsps melted butter

  • 1/3 cup warm milk

  • 1 cup sharp cheddar

  • Preheat over to 400 degrees.

  • Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place in a large pot of cold salted water.

  • Bring the potatoes to a gentle boil and cook for 13-16 minutes or until fork tender.

  • While potatoes are cooking combine ground beef and onion in a large skillet, brown until no pink remains.

  • Add carrots, celery, and garlic to the ground beef mixture. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until slightly tender.

  • Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf.

  • Simmer for 20 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Remove bay leaf, add peas, and season with salt and pepper.

  • Drain the potatoes well and mash until smooth. Stir in the butter. Add warmed milk a little bit at a time until the potatoes are smooth and fluffy, you may not need all of the milk. Stir the cheese into the potatoes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

  • Top the meat mixture with the potatoes and place in the oven. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden.

If you try out any of these, let us know how they were! Send us a picture of your delectable dish to the WKRG Facebook page.

Happy Thanksgiving from your WKRG Family!

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