Bite-sized Thanksgiving dinners helpful for guests and your leftovers

Thanksgiving is the holiday of food traditions, of roasting a turkey and accessorizing it with the same stuffing and side dishes your family has made and served for generations.

It's a tough time to stray too far from that which has become habit. Even the much-ridiculed gelatin salad that never actually gets eaten would be missed if it wasn't on the Thanksgiving table.

Yet there are occasions to experiment, and perhaps venture away from the traditional big bird, mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

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Perhaps, as one friend lamented, you don't have a big enough table to seat everyoneor maybe you'd like to attempt to streamline the cooking process and do the whole spread in your Instant Pot.

Here are a few ways to deliver the turkey dinner experience in a new way. You could tryslow roasting the bird in the slow cooker or making the entire meal bite-sized so friends can stand and mingle, cocktail or craft brew in hand.

Roasted Brussels sprout skewers

Simmer whole or halved Brussels sprouts for fiveminutes. Otherwise, cook them with a bit of water in the microwave for three to four minutes, or until just tender. Thenroll them around in some oil and sprinklewith salt and pepper.

Roast at around 204 C (400F) until golden on the edges and tender enough to impale with a bamboo skewer.

Serve with a quick grainy mustard aiolifor dipping. You can make this by mixing real mayonnaise with a spoonful of grainy mustard.

Turkey dinner on a stick

I thought of this jokinglybut it's kind of fun to skewer roasted Brussels sprouts or other vegetables, chunks of roasted turkeyand even cubes of toasted bread.

I tossed mine with melted butter and sage. Then I toasted them on a baking sheet along with the Brussels sprouts, making crunchy giant croutons that tasted like stuffing.

Turkey andmashed potato croquettes

Mix mashed potatoes and roughly chopped turkey withgrated aged white cheddar, if you like.

Season with some salt. Shape into small logs and roll in beaten eggs, then breadcrumbs. Bake at high heat or shallow fry in a neutral oil like canolauntil golden and crispy.

Turkey dinner in a jar

I also thought of this jokinglybut then realized that turkey pot pies are a go-to way of assembling leftovers for the freezer.

Small pot pies would be easy to eat out of your hand. They deliverturkey, vegetables, mashed potatoes and some form of gravy all in one without need for a knife.

Use any chicken pot pie recipe and topwith mashed potatoes.

Another option is tomoisten with gravy chunks of roasted turkey or chicken,and roasted orsautedvegetables, such assliced leeks, carrots and peas. Thentop with mashed potatoes.

Warm a bunch on a baking sheet to serve with a fork. Leftovers are already packed up.

Mini pumpkin pies

Roll out enough pastry for a single crust pie. Cut small rounds and press gently into mini- or regular-sizedmuffin tins. Whisk one14-oz can of pumpkin puree with onecan sweetened condensed milk, twoeggs and pumpkin pie spice.

You can make your own pumpkin pie spice mix usingcinnamon, ginger, allspice andnutmeg. Dollop your mixture into the tin so italmost fills the shells.

Bake at 177 C (350 F) for 15-20 minutes, or until puffed and golden.

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With files from theCalgary Eyeopener.