5 THANKSGIVING SIDE DISH IDEAS
Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays because it involves delicious food, time with family, and being thankful for all of the amazing blessings we are granted in life. We are so thankful for your support. Our family’s dairy are grateful for the work we get to do every day to provide wholesome, nourishing food for our community of health-conscious consumers. Enjoy these 5 delicious Thanksgiving side dish ideas, made with RAW FARM raw dairy products, and let us know which one you’ll be making this holiday season!
1.Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese
It isn’t Thanksgiving if there isn’t homemade mac and cheese. This baked mac and cheese is made with raw milk, raw heavy cream, and our original cow shredded raw cheddar cheese. It’s to die for! Get the full recipe here.
2. Creamy Mashed Potatoes
This delicious creamy mashed potato recipe features raw milk, raw butter, raw cheese, and homemade, easy raw sour cream (get the recipe here). What a treat!
Ingredients:
2 pounds potatoes, (Russet, Yukon Gold, Dutch Creams, etc)
1 teaspoon salt; add more to taste if desired
1/2 cup hot milk, or more
1/3 cup RAW FARM Unsalted Raw Butter, softened (close to room temp is best)
6-8 cloves fresh garlic finely chopped
1/4 cup raw sour cream (recipe here)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon fresh chopped herbs to garnish, optional to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Peel and cut potatoes into quarters lengthwise. Remove any spots, lumps or knots.
Place potatoes in a large pot (6-quart) and cover with cold, salted water by an inch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat down to medium-low and allow to simmer until fork tender (about 15-20 minutes).
When potatoes are just about done (nearly fork-tender), heat 1 tablespoon of the raw butter in a small pan over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Set aside and keep warm.
Drain potatoes cooked to tender, add in the remaining raw butter, cooked garlic, hot milk and raw sour cream.
Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until smooth, adding a little extra milk if needed. (OPTIONAL: Use an electric beater to beat further until smooth. Be careful NOT to over beat or they will become gluey.)
Add in the shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve and enjoy these creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes! (I’d also add in some extra raw butter!😉)
Recipe inspired by: https://cafedelites.com/easy-creamy-mashed-potatoes/
3. Buttermilk biscuits with raw butter
The title says it all. 😍 These homemade buttermilk biscuits-made using Raw Kefir-are soft and buttery with dozens of flaky layers! Best of all, this recipe only requires 6 simple ingredients.
WHAT’S THE RAW DIFFERENCE?
RAW FARM Raw Dairy Products are unprocessed and complete with protein, bioavailable vitamins, minerals, enzymes, beneficial bacteria, naturally occurring CLA and omega-3 fatty acids. Our truly happy cows grass graze on lush green pasture, all year long. Absolutely NO antibiotics, synthetic hormones, or GMO anything. Customers with lactose sensitivities have a delicious, nutritious, and natural alternative in this unaltered, wholesome product. The ease of digestibility of raw milk gives those that experience discomfort with processed dairy products, a delicious and natural option (isn’t that amazing).
Ingredients:
2 and 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour (gluten free, optional), plus extra for hands and work surface
2 Tablespoons aluminum free baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher sea salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) RAW FARM Unsalted Raw Butter, cubed and very cold
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (270ml) cold RAW FARM Plain Raw Kefir, divided
2 teaspoons raw honey honey
2 beaten pasture raised eggs, for an eggwash to glaze on top
Topping Recommendation: RAW FARM Lightly Salted Raw Butter (so delicious!)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Make the biscuits: Place the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk or pulse until combined. Add the cubed cold raw butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or by pulsing several times in the food processor. Cut or pulse until coarse crumbs form. If you used a food processor, pour the mixture into a large bowl.
Make a well in the center of the mixture. Pour 1 cup of raw kefir and drizzle raw honey on top. Fold everything together with a rubber spatula until it begins to come together. Do not overwork the dough-it should be crumbly with some damp spots.
Pour the dough onto a floured work surface and gently bring together with floured hands. The dough will become sticky as you bring it together. Have extra flour nearby and use it often to flour your hands and surface.
Using floured hands or a floured rolling pin, flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle as best you can. Fold one side into the center, then the other side. Turn the dough horizontally. Gently flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle again. Repeat the folding again. Turn the dough horizontally one more time. Gently flatten into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle. Repeat the folding one last time. Flatten into the final 3/4 inch thick rectangle. Check out this blog for how-to pictures.
Cut into 3-inch circles with a biscuit cutter. Re-roll scraps until all the dough is used. You should have about 8-10 biscuits. Arrange closely together on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Ensure the biscuits are touching.
Beat 3 pasture raised eggs in a bowl and brush the tops with the eggwash. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and enjoy warm with lots of raw butter!
Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Recipe inspired by: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/flaky-buttermilk-biscuits/
RAW KEFIR WHEN BAKING
Interestingly, many people don’t know that Raw Kefir is a great substitute for sour cream, yogurt, and buttermilk when baking. So, what IS Raw Kefir, you may wonder. RAW FARM Whole Raw Kefir is made by culturing our whole raw milk with 12 specialized bacteria colonies (in addition to the bio-diverse colonies of beneficial bacteria naturally found in our raw milk). It is cultured for 36-48 hours to achieve an approximately 4.0pH. RAW FARM Whole Raw Kefir is deliciously smooth and very drinkable! Raw Kefir contains special prebiotics, which feed and protects gut bacteria. In addition, our raw kefir is alive with fully active enzymes containing a biodiversity of probiotic bacteria a broad spectrum of naturally occurring beneficial bacteria, essential amino acids, OMEGA-3 fatty acids, protein, metabolically available vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Absolutely NO antibiotics, synthetic hormones, or GMO anything. Due to the high acidity provided by the lactic acid in kefir, it helps create a similar environment to buttermilk in baking. To use kefir as a buttermilk substitute in recipes, simply use a 1-to-1 ratio.
4. Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Who doesn’t love a cheesy broccoli casserole, especially with loads of Shredded Raw Cheddar! For a fun twist, try using our new Shredded Raw Cheddar Cheese! 🧀🧀🧀
What makes Raw Cheddar Cheese so special?
RAW FARM Raw Cheddar has aged a minimum of 60 days and is truly traditional artisan raw cheddar. Made with Whole Raw Milk from cows that grass-graze daily, each block is packed with protein, bioavailable vitamins, minerals, enzymes, beneficial bacteria, naturally occurring CLA and Omega-3 fatty acids. The ease of digestibility of Raw Cheddar gives those that experience discomfort with processed cheese products, a delicious and natural option.
INGREDIENTS:
1 ½ pounds organic broccoli florets
8 ounces organic cream cheese, room temperature, cut into cubes
1/4 cup raw sour cream
1 cup RAW FARM Shredded Raw Cheddar Cheese (Goat or Cow)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, or to taste
crushed red pepper flakes for garnish, optional
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Grease a 3 quart baking dish with raw butter and set aside.
In a large skillet, bring 1/2 inch of salted water to a boil.
Add the broccoli; cover and cook over high heat until crisp-tender, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Drain and transfer broccoli to prepared baking dish; set aside.
In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese, raw sour cream, raw shredded cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic, Italian Seasoning, salt, and pepper, and mix until combined.
Add cream cheese mixture to the broccoli and stir until thoroughly mixed.
Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned on top.
Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Serve and enjoy!
Recipe inspired by: https://diethood.com/broccoli-cheese-casserole/
5. Sweet Potatoes with Maple Brown Butter
Last, but not least are these decadent, delicious maple, brown butter roasted sweet potatoes made using raw butter. Pro tip, add more raw butter on top for extra creaminess and extra #rawgoodness! 😍
Ingredients:
2 organic sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tbsp raw coconut oil
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1½ tbsp RAW FARM Cultured Raw Butter
1½ tbsp pure maple syrup
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Peel and dice the sweet potatoes then place on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with coconut oil then season with sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Toss well to coat evenly.
Place in the oven to roast for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through bake time.
While the sweet potatoes are roasting, make the maple brown butter by melting the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan, stirring often, until melted. It will start to bubble, foam, and separate then will turn golden brown. ***Watch the butter carefully while cooking because it can burn easily.
Remove from the heat and pour into a small dish then immediately add the maple syrup and whisk until well combined; set aside for later.
Once the sweet potatoes have roasted for 25 minutes, drizzle the maple brown butter over them then toss to coat. Place in the oven again for 1-2 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let cool, and serve. Enjoy!
Recipe inspired by: https://fortheloveofcooking.net/2020/12/maple-brown-butter-roasted-sweet-potatoes.html
Summary:
Which recipe are you making this Thanksgiving? Whether you go for the creamy baked mac and raw cheese, the cheesy mashed potatoes, the buttermilk biscuits, the broccoli cheddar casserole, the maple raw butter, the roasted sweet potatoes, or all of the above, we promise your family, friends, and loved ones will enjoy a comforting, wholesome meal packed with added nutrients and love this holiday season from RAW FARM raw dairy products.
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