Forget the tired typical green bean casserole this holiday season and dish up some new and somewhat unusual fare like tomato pudding, pineapple au gratin, or go wild with paleo platters. Some Lancaster High School staff spooned-up some interesting and endearing holiday recipes, along with some alternative dishes for those who prefer a non-traditional meal.

The most unusual recipe came from LHS English teacher, Mike Ryan who shared a family favorite – tomato pudding.  Yeah, you read that right.

¨My great Grandma Katie made this, then my Mimi made it, now my Mom makes it for Thanksgiving. It’s a unique dish that reminds me of holidays back home,¨ said Ryan.

Teacher  Luke Truex sent in a recipe for pineapple au gratin that his family enjoys.

“Well no stories behind it; it’s just a staple at our Thanksgiving dinner and favorites from our classroom Thanksgiving,” he said.

Baked pineapple is a dish that teacher Laura Julien likes for any holiday or special occasion.

¨A favorite recipe in my family (that also shows up on other holidays) is baked pineapple. It is pineapple mixed with eggs, flour, and sugar topped with toasted bread chunks. Super yummy and different. We eat it as a side dish but I request this dish as my birthday cake as well,”she said. See the recipe by following this link:

https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/paleo-sweet-potato-casserole-gf-df/

Agriculture teacher Elizabeth Williams said her family loves a traditional family recipe with bananas.

¨It’s my mom’s banana cake recipe. It has been passed down from my grandma to me now. It’s very good. We make a homemade icing with it too of brown sugar, butter, and I think vanilla,¨ Williams said.

LHS school psychologist Sheila Coleman-Gross loves the idea of making homemade noodles; a recipe that has been handed down through generations in her family.

¨I have made noodles with every generation of my family on my Mom’s side that I have been able to.  My mom’s mom and I made noodles together and I made them with my mother and my aunt.  My sister and I have made them together too.  I have taught this recipe to my friends. It’s always a time of conversation the day before Thanksgiving, remembering stories and sharing time,” she said.

Coleman-Gross said that the recipe has roots from the Great Depression.

¨Flour, water and eggs were available for most people.  Now we eat them because we love them and it is just part of what we make for Thanksgiving.  The question is never are we going to make them, it is only who will be making them this year,¨ she said.

Another family recipe that Coleman-Gross shared is turkey and rice which her family likes to make with the left-over bird.

“We make it every year after Thanksgiving when we cook a turkey.  It’s just a tradition and I am not sure how it started, but when the main Thanksgiving meal is over, as we are cleaning up the dishes, etc; someone starts to take the meat off the carcass and it just goes forward from there. It is just what we do.  Again lots of memories and stories shared by the family as we work together to make good food.¨

LHS nurse Lisa Rookard said she enjoys making a candied yam souffle that she plans to pass down to her children.

¨It is not a family recipe that was passed down but it was added to our family recipe book and each of our three children will get a copy of it so that they will be able to enjoy it for years to come. It makes me happy that they all enjoy it.¨

Festive food around the holiday table often leads to a heavy, sleepy, gluttonous feeling but National Geographic reports that it’s not that the traditional recipes are unhealthy, in fact, many are loaded with health-promoting nutrients.

“It’s what people add—fat, sugar, salt, and cream—that tips them into the less-healthy zone. After all, consuming these ingredients in excess can clog the arteries, raise blood pressure, and send blood sugar soaring” (Colino).

As an alternative to the traditional holiday meal, LHS algebra teacher Faith Spires says she enjoys Thanksgiving while being on a Paleo diet and shared a sweet potato casserole recipe.

¨I’ve eaten a Paleo diet (no dairy, gluten, grains, soy, refined sugar, or beans) for seven years and this recipe makes me feel like I’m not missing out on anything on Thanksgiving day.  It is so yummy and such a treat!  I always double it, because my family loves it too,¨ Spires concluded. Click on the link to see the recipe.
https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/paleo-sweet-potato-casserole-gf-df/

Eye of the Gale is in search of Christmas cookie recipes that Santa would love to taste.  Email one of our journalists or Cino at [email protected].

Happy Thanksgiving from Eye of the Gale!