Thanksgiving at our house is all fresh, made from scratch, nothing from boxes or cans, but certainly includes sour-creamy garlic mashed potatoes and lots and lots and lots of gravy. On this day, no one is vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or anything-ian or they go hungry. (We do not pander to anyone's crazy, bound-to-fail diet.)
BUT, we do have one absolutely artery-clogging dish that I cringe to share, but we can't do without -- broccoli cheese dish. Yes, it might as well be made from by-products of the rubber plant, but it's generally the first thing to go:
2 bags (1 lb+) frozen broccoli pieces
1 lb brick of Velveeta cheese cut up into small chunks
1 (entire) stick of butter
1 stack of Ritz crackers rolled into crumbs (or pulsed in food processor to resemble dust)
If you're not gagging yet... Cook the broccoli according to package directions (but no salt) and drain. Over low heat, add the cheese chunks and butter and melt together with the broccoli pieces. Mix in half (or a little more) of the cracker crumbs. Remove from heat and pat into casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cracker crumbs on top of mixture. Bake before serving for 30 minutes at 300 (just to get things a bit bubbly and brown on top, not because any of the ingredients actually require heat for any culinary purpose). Due to its possibly radioactive properties, this dish can safely be made up to a year ahead of time.
You're welcome.