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This is the third year in a row my kids and I will spend Thanksgiving at the home of some very special family friends. They’re native to the Chicago suburbs that we’ve adopted as our home, and they’ve adopted us as part of their family. Lucky us! One of the most special things about this collaborative family we’ve formed is that our family is Jewish and theirs is not. That means that we now share holidays of all sorts and on the secular American holidays my family gets to partake of a meal that includes ham and hearty midwestern fare you’d never find on a Jewish East-Coast table.

And we love it.

But I have to laugh when my friend and I sit at our almost weekly Friday night dinners at a local restaurant and she describes the upcoming feast to me. Turkey, of course, and dressing (which I’d call stuffing even if it’s not inside the bird). Then there is sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, a special rice dish and rolls. A vegetable you ask? Sure, her cousin’s famous string bean casserole made with bacon and cheese whiz. Fruit? Absolutely! Her aunt’s fruity jello mold.

I sat at the table, arteries clogging - mouth watering.

And asked if I could bring a veggie tray.

So I’ll arrange carrots and celery and sugar snap peas and perhaps squash to add a little yellow. Grape tomatoes work well, but I usually forgo the mushrooms because they turn brown.

My favorite dip for veggies uses grocery store shelf items — nothing fancy and certainly nothing organic, but in lieu of another dish made with two sticks of butter, I’m going to go for it.

Veggie Dip

1 envelope Italian dressing mix (I use Good Seasons, see reason above)

And that’s it! Mix it together and, if you can, let it sit overnight or at least a few hours. It’s better than your average dip and the combined with the veggies makes a nice balance for the carb-intense, fat-based meal ahead of us all.

Back to basics on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, MONDAY!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

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by Amy Nathan

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[tags]home, family, food, vegetable dip, sour cream, recipe, dressing, Thanksgiving, meal, dinner, nutrition, cooking[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by Chris Campbell, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved