Good Morning Carolina shares some Thanksgiving feast favorites

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Thanksgiving Day is a time for family, friends and of course, food. With the big holiday just days away, you might be looking for a new dish to add to and freshen up your feast spread.

To help you prepare, Good Morning Carolina anchors Randy and Sarah shared a few of their favorites. Christina brought a traditional Thanksgiving staple to the table because she says no matter which way you slice it, pumpkin pie is a delicious must-have when turkey day rolls around.

Cranberry Sauce is one of Randy’s favorites during the holidays. He says he has been making this recipe for many years, and over time he has added his own personal touches to it to perfect it.

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup water 
1 cup water zest of one orange
1 ½ pounds of Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, diced
1 bag of cranberries
1/3 cup gold raisins
¼ tablespoon cinnamon
¼ tablespoon allspice
¼ tablespoon ground ginger 

Directions:
Put water, sugar and orange zest in stock pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sugar is melted. Add apples and simmer 5-10 minutes (apples should still be slightly firm). Add cranberries and all spices simmer until all cranberries “pop” and some apples begin to soften and fall apart (it is ready when all ingredients are a “cranberry red”). Add raisins, stir and remove from heat. Cool and refrigerate until ready to serve.

The dish will freeze easily. Reheat leftovers and add apple brandy to make a topping for cake or ice cream.

At the Murphy household, Broccoli Casserole and Pa's Stuffing are among the most popular. Every year, they use the recipe for Pa's Stuffing to make sure there are leftovers for breakfast the next day!

Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:
4 packages of frozen broccoli florets
1 pound Velveeta cheese
2 sticks of butter
2 sleeves of your favorite kind of cracker

Directions:
Cut broccoli into bite size pieces and boil for about 10 minutes. Cut one stick of butter and cheese into cubes and set aside. Crush crackers into small pieces. Cut second stick of butter into cubes and let it melt it in the microwave for 20 seconds. Drain broccoli and combine in a bowl with cubed butter and cheese. Put mixture in a casserole pan. Combine cracker pieces and melt butter then top broccoli mixture.

Pa's Stuffing
Ingredients:
2 pounds hamburger
2 12 ounce breakfast sausage roll
1 white onion 3 stalks of celery
8-10 small potatoes

Directions:
Cook hamburger and sausage. Dice onion and celery into small pieces and cook in the hamburger and sausage fat. Cut potatoes. Boil potatoes for 15 minutes. Quickly mash potatoes, doesn't have to be perfect—chunks are good. Combine all ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Whatever you choose to whip up for the Thanksgiving table this year, be sure you enjoy it with your family and friends. Watch the full interview to see how those dishes look when it's time to dig in!