Our Thanksgiving favorites

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Families around the country are getting ready for Thanksgiving, and we at ABC 7 wanted to share our favorite dishes this holiday. Stacey Baca, Diane Pathieu, and Larry Mowry each shared their secret recipes, perfect for any occasion.

RECIPES:

Pathieu Family Hummus Recipe

Every hummus recipe is vastly different. My dad, who was born and raised in Beirut, taught me this one. He doesn't do measurements per se, so I had to watch him do it and memorize everything!

You can adjust all of these "measurements" to taste, and everyone's 'taste' varies

Ingredients:

2 cans of chick peas

1-2 glove(s) garlic

Tahini

Salt

1-2 Lemon(s)

EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Paprika for garnish (optional)

Middle Eastern Pickles (TORSHE) To garnish

Tools:

Blender

Tablespoon

Clean Bowl

Preparation:

Open both cans of chick peas, dump one whole can with juice into blender, drain the 2nd can into a clean bowl and dump the remaining chick peas into the blender.

Add 1 glove of garlic (more if you like garlic!), a tablespoon of EVOO (*you can add more for more creaminess), a rounded tablespoon of Tahini, pinch of salt, and juice of one lemon squeezed...blend them all together.

This is when it gets challenging... time to taste! It may need a little more lemon or salt, depending on your taste buds.

Add whatever you want, then blend until semi-smooth, everyone blends differently, some until VERY smooth, others, a little texture is just fine!

To serve, spread the hummus on a flat plate, drizzle a little more EVOO on the top, sprinkle some paprika on top, and garnish around the plate with pickles.

Serve with warm pita!

PS- You can always add to this to make other flavors, for example, if you like roasted pepper hummus, use the recipe above for your "base" and add roasted red peppers!

Stacey's Superb Stuffing

Ingredients:

Splash of Olive Oil

1lb Mild Country Sausage

1lb Spicy Country Sausage

2 12oz Bags of Cubed Herb Stuffing

1 Vidalia Onion - Finely Chopped

4 Large Cloves of Garlic - Crushed

1 Cup Celery - Chopped

1 Cup Walnuts - Chopped

2 TBS Fresh Savory Herb - Finely Chopped

1/4 Cup Fresh Thyme Leaves

1/2 Cup Fresh Basil - Finely Chopped

Up to 3 Cups of Chicken Broth

Salt & Pepper to taste

(**Okay, I absolutely love fresh herbs. In fact, I use about double what I put in this recipe, but my husband said that may be overboard for everyone else.)

Preparation:

Throw a splash of olive oil in the hot pan. Add onions and garlic till translucent. Toss in both packages of sausage. Brown thoroughly. DO NOT DRAIN!

Add herb stuffing mix, celery, walnuts, and all the herbs. Now add broth to your taste. I personally like cubed stuffing, not mushy. So I probably only use 1-2 cups. Your choice on this one. Add salt and pepper!

Larry's "Sweet Cheese Stuffed Sweet Potatoes"

Ingredients:

Sweet Potatoes (small to medium size are best)

Goat Cheese

Cottage Cheese

Ricotta cheese

Salt and pepper

Green Onion (sliced)

Paprika

Preparation:

1. Cool sweet potatoes. Either microwave or oven. When cooked, let cool to where you can handle them. Cut in half and scoop out inside of potato and place in a bowl. Place potato skins to the side.

2. Mash the insides of the potatoes with cheeses. Add salt and pepper as desired.

3. Put mixture back on potato skins. Garnish with sliced green onion and Cayenne pepper of favorite spice

4. Place back in microwave for a minute or oven for 10 minutes on 350 heat.

5. ENJOY!