By Nicole Hvidsten, The Minnesota Star Tribune Everyone has their favorites at the Thanksgiving table, and heaven help the cook who takes one of them away. A colleague summed it up perfectly: “You can always add, but you can never subtract.” That creates a conundrum for ambitious cooks tired of making the same things over and over — and over again.

Related Articles These recipes put a new spin on the traditional meal, from stuffing through dessert. You may still have to make green bean casserole, but with these dishes, consider your culinary creativity challenged. And that’s a reason to give thanks.

Makes about 12 muffins (depending on pan size). These individual stuffing muffins bake up to be crisped on the outside and tender within. Easy to serve, they hold their own on the Thanksgiving table as a side dish or satisfying vegetarian main.

These can be baked up to a day ahead and stored in a plastic bag once they’ve cooled, then reheated in the oven right before serving. The recipe is inspired by my grandmother’s recipe, but if roasting and shelling chestnuts is just one step too many, feel free to leave them out. From Beth Dooley.

Directions Serves 8 to 10. These creamy potatoes, layered with caramelized onions and topped with a crunchy, cheesy breadcrumb crust, is an epic side dish that brings all the best flavors of fall together in one bite. Or two.

Or three. While this dish does have a few different steps, some of them can be made ahead of time (see below), m.