Cornbread stuffing made by Yakima Herald-Republic Explore editor Sara Rae Shields.

Thanksgiving meals come in many varieties, whether served for one away from home, or with friends and family. The meal is what you cook and who you share it with.

Here at the Yakima Herald-Republic, staff gathered around the copy desk to share some of our favorite stars of the meal: starters, sides, salads, non-traditional mains and one questionably designated dessert.

Spiced Pumpkin Butter

I recently met my friend Mary for a glass of wine and shared some small plates with her. We sampled a pumpkin butter that was so appealing, I knew I could recreate it myself. It's the perfect appetizer to enjoy while your house and kitchen fills with Thanksgiving aromas.

* 2 cans (15 ounce) pumpkin puree

* 1/3 cup apple cider

* 1/2 cup real maple syrup, plus more if needed to sweeten

* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

* 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

* 1 teaspoon cinnamon

* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Stove top instructions:

In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Stir often and cook until the pumpkin thickens slightly but is spreadable, about 20-30 minutes. Taste and add more maple syrup if needed.

Remove from heat and let cool. The pumpkin butter will thicken as it cool. Transfer to glass jars and store in the refrigerator for up to one month. Or, store in freezer safe containers for up to three months.

Slow cooker instructions:

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker bowl. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Remove lid for the last 45 minutes, allowing the pumpkin butter to thicken. Taste and add more maple syrup if needed.

Turn off the heat and let cool. Pumpkin butter will continue to thicken as it cools. Transfer to glass jars and store in the refrigerator for up to one month. Or, store in freezer safe containers for up to three months.

-- Sara Rae Shields, from www.halfbakedharvest.com, by Tieghan Gerard

Jello Dessert

Handwritten by my grandma Mary and in her tried-and-true recipe book, her orange Jello dessert has always been a Shields favorite. Never served after dinner as a sweet treat, this dish was found amongst turkeys, hams, roast beef and side dishes at all of our family's big dinners. Every time I make it, I remember sneaking into the kitchen as a kid to grab a slice of orange or pineapple tidbit while the fruit drained.

* 1 3-ounce package orange Jello

* 1 8-ounce Cool Whip

* 12 ounces sour cream

* 1 11 ounce can of mandarin oranges (15 works if you can't find 11)

* 1 20 ounce can of pineapple tidbits

Drain fruit well. Mix Cool Whip, sour cream and dry Jello. Add fruit and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for three hours before serving.

-- Sara Rae Shields

Cranberry Pear Relish

This is a Thanksgiving requirement at my house, though we have regular cranberry sauce, too. You need a food processor. It does not require cooking.

* 1 small naval orange

* 1 (12-ounce) bag of fresh or frozen cranberries

* 1 pear, cored and cut into large chunks. (I leave the skin on the pear if it is yellow or green, but peel if it is a Bosc or thicker skin variety.)

* 1/2 cup brown sugar

* Pinch kosher salt

* 3 tablespoons pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Wash and dry the orange and pear and cut into large chunks, including the peel. Put the orange in a food processor by itself and give it a couple of pulses. Add cranberries, cut-up pear, sugar and salt.

Pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least two hours and up to two days. Just before serving, stir in the pecans.

-- Joanna Markell

Tofu Salad (Sandwich)

A hearty, poultry-less sandwich that tastes like autumn. Makes four sandwiches.

* 1 block extra firm tofu, pressed

* 2 stalks celery

* 1/4 red onion

* 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

* 3 tablespoons maple syrup

* 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

* 3 tablespoons vegan or regular mayonnaise

* 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

* 1/2 teaspoon pepper

* 1/2 tablespoon dried dill

* 1 tablespoon dried cranberries

* 4 slices of a large tomato

* 4 leaves of lettuce

* 8 slices of whole grain bread

Dice the celery and onion and add them to a large mixing bowl. Drain and press the tofu, and crumble with your hands into the bowl. Add the seasonings and condiments and mix evenly. Store the mixture in the fridge until ready to eat. Add a portion of the salad to a set of bread slices, garnish with the sliced tomato and lettuce.

-- Questen Inghram

Great Aunt Millie's Corn Casserole

I have spent two decades with my husband's family and there is most definitely a favorite holiday dish: great-aunt Millie's cornbread casserole. When she originally submitted this recipe to "The Rosalma Club Cookbook," I'm fairly sure she had no idea it would become such a big deal, and it is now being made by doubling and sometimes quadrupling the original measurements. I'm sure she would be beaming with pride. I haven't even dared to mess around with this recipe because honestly, it's already perfection.

Preheat oven to 375

* 2 cans of cream style corn

* 1/2 onion chopped (yellow or white)

* 2 eggs beaten

* 1 stick of butter

* 1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix

Sautee onion in margarine (or butter-preferred) for about five minutes. Pour into large shallow baking dish. Add corn, eggs and muffin mix. Mix well.

Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove cover and brown (under broiler).

-- Josie Hall, Eating and Dishing columnist

Cornbread Stuffing

Last Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law Amber brought this cornbread stuffing to dinner and everyone at the table was raving about it. Before dinner was over, we told her she must bring it for Christmas dinner.

It's onion heavy. I cut the recipe to one and half onions and it was still a lot. So keep that in mind if you make it.

Herb butter

* 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for the baking dish

* 3 tablespoons minced fresh sage

* 2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme

* 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

* 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

* Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For the stuffing

* 2 large onions

* 3 celery stalks, finely diced

* 9 cups cubed cornbread (homemade or store-bought)

* 1 large egg, lightly beaten

* 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

* 3/4 cup whole milk

Make the herb butter by mixing the butter with sage, thyme, parsley, rosemary, salt to taste and 2 teaspoons pepper. Combine well.

Melt 1/2 cup of herb butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions and celery, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine onions and celery with cornbread, egg, chicken broth, milk and 3/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well.

Place in a buttered 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes; remove foil and bake until golden brown, about 20 more minutes.

-- Sara Rae Shields, from www.foodnetwork.com, courtesy of Katie Lee Biegel

Jasper's Ancestors' Church's Stuffed Pork Chops

Don't get me wrong, I love turkey, but cooking a whole bird is a lot. Turkeys are so big they're practically dinosaurs and if you don't feel like cooking a whole tyrannosaurus rex for Thanksgiving, a simpler dish could do a lot for you.

Enter pork chop stuffing. This recipe is adapted from an early 20th century Nisei Favorites cookbook published in Los Angeles and is flexible, forgiving and light on dishes.

* 4 bone-in pork chops

* 2 tablespoons butter

* 1 teaspoon black pepper, with more for pork chops

* 1 teaspoon salt, with more for pork chops

* 1 stalk of celery

* 5 or 6 cremini mushrooms

*1/2 white or yellow onion

* 1/4 cup breadcrumbs or panko flakes

* 1/2 bell pepper

* 2 tablespoons parsley

Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the pork chops and dice the onions, celery, mushrooms and bell pepper into pieces smaller than a penny. If you have other vegetables or goodies you like to put in stuffing (bacon? Rosemary? Corn?) feel free to prep those as well and use them in the stuffing.

Once that precooking is done, melt the butter under medium-high heat in a nearby saucepan. If the butter starts to burn, you can turn things down a little bit, but as soon as its melted, brown both sides of the pork chops.

You really just need to leave them on for three or four minutes - the goal is to cook the chops' outsides and seal in the real good juices. Once all your pork chops are done, set them aside in a baking pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Turn the stovetop heat to medium and sauté the diced onion, celery, mushrooms and bell peppers in that same saucepan - feel free to add some cooking oil or butter if there's not enough liquid in the pan. Non-stick pans might be a little blackened, but that's not the end of the world. It should all wash off after a good soak.

After the onions start to soften and turn translucent, add in the parsley, salt, pepper and the breadcrumbs or panko flakes (they're interchangeable). Mix that in the pan until the mixture is, well, mixed. It should look kind of like stuffing.

Then take a spoonful of that pre-stuffing from the pan and pile it onto the center of the pork chops. You can probably fit between half cup and a cup of stuffing on each pork chop, but that depends on the size.

Once all the pork chops are topped and the oven is preheated, place the pan in the oven. Baking time depends on the thickness of the pork chop. A good rule is eight minutes for every half inch of thickness. So, a pork chop that's about 1-inch thick would stay in for 16 minutes.

Pull that sucker out of the oven and boom. Thanksgiving dinner all on one pork chop.

-- Jasper Kenzo Sundeen