Thanksgiving is right around the corner. You might be seeing family, friends, or even the family of a significant other. You may even be hosting Thanksgiving yourself. If you want to try and impress whoever you are spending the holidays with, here are 8 easy homemade dish ideas to "wow" guests this year.

1. Cranberry Stuffed Crescent Rolls

Cranberry sauce and Crescent rolls are delicious enough on their own, but combined is a whole other level of tasty. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• canned cranberry sauce
• 1 egg, whipped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to directions on the package of crescent rolls.
2. Separate crescent rolls into individual rolls.
3. Use a spoon to put about a 1/2 Tablespoon of cranberry sauce on the thickest portion of the crescent rolls.
4. Carefully roll the crescent roll over the cranberry sauce and into a crescent shape.
5. Brush the tops of each crescent roll with the egg wash.
6. Bake according to package directions.
7. Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

2. Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potatoes are always a Thanksgiving hit, so here is a way to spice it up a little.

Ingredients:

• 5 – 6 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 (10.5 oz) package miniature marshmallows

Directions:

Place sweet potatoes in a large pot of boiling water. Boil until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Drain the potatoes and return to pot, away from heat. Mash in the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and orange juice. Spread evenly in a greased 9-x13-inch pan. Top with marshmallows.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until marshmallows are golden brown.

3. Thanksgiving Turkey Cheese Ball

This is an adorable way to make an appetizer festive. It's a great snack to beat the hunger while you wait for the main course.

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar (I shredded a chunk of cheddar cheese)
About 1/2 cup of chopped up mixed nuts
2 candy eyes (bought these at Stop and Shop
1 Slim Jim
pretzel sticks
1 round chocolate candy as in Whopper or Chocolate Pom poms for the head
1 candy corn
a few teaspoons of melted chocolate melts to adhere the eyes and "beak".

Directions:

Soften cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Cream the cream cheese (in food processor) and add in the shredded cheddar. Stir and "cream" until both cheeses are thoroughly mixed together. Then pop this mixture into a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a ball. At this point it goes into the refrigerator for a few hours to firm it up.

Take it out of the fridge and roll in chopped nuts, being careful to keep the nice round shape.

Place pretzels as in picture to make the nice, full tail of the turkey. Use a bit of chocolate melt to glue the round chocolate candy to about a 4 or 5 inch piece of Slim Jim. It was a bit tricky to get this to stay in place, and eventually I placed it in the freezer to harden it up faster. I glued on the eyes and "beak" candy corn and placed in the freezer for a few minutes. After inserting the "neck" Slim Jim into the cheese ball, I placed the entire thing on a plate and into the refrigerator overnight.

4. Apple Cider Sangria

If you can't cook anything to save your life, then bringing drinks is the next best thing. You can also make a non-alcoholic version of this by removing the alcohol and replacing it with seltzer water.

Ingredients:

2 apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup cognac
2 cups apple cider
750ml bottle cava (or other dry sparkling wine), chilled
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

Directions:

Add the apples to a large pitcher, reserving about 1/2 cup for garnishing. Add the cognac, apple cider, and chilled cava. Stir.

Fill the pitcher with ice. Pour the sangria into glasses filled with ice, and top with sliced apple and pomegranate seeds.

5. Homemade Mac and Cheese Bites

Everything is better bite-sized, especially something as delicious as mac and cheese.

Ingredients:

• ½ pound elbow macaroni
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1½ cups milk
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside.
4. In a medium size pan, combine butter and flour over medium heat. Whisk until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Slowly add milk and bring to a simmer. Add 1½ cups of the cheese, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth and creamy. Remove from heat.
5. In a large mixing bowl, carefully stir pasta, cheese sauce, and egg until evenly mixed and pasta is evenly coated.
6. Spoon mac and cheese into mini muffin tins and top each with a small pinch of remaining cheese. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Allow to cool 5 minutes before gently removing the bites from the oven.

6. Apple Pie Bites

Again, bite-sized is always better. So, here is a delicious recipe for warm apple pie bites.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice, and additional apple pie spice (about ¼ teaspoon) for sprinkling on top of crescent rolls
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• ⅓ cup chopped pecans
• 1 small Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced into 8 (1/2-inch) slices
• 1 (8-ounce) can Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and apple pie spice. Set aside.
3. Melt butter and toss apple slices in butter; set aside.
4. Arrange crescent roll triangles on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Evenly distribute brown sugar mixture onto each triangle.
5. Sprinkle each triangle evenly with the chopped pecans.
6. Place an apple slice on the wide end of each triangle. Wrap crescent roll dough around each apple.
7. Brush each crescent roll with remaining butter. Sprinkle lightly with additional apple pie spice.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

7. Slow Cooker Creamed Corn

Sometimes, the easiest thing to do is to put everything in a crock pot and let it do its magic. Here is a great recipe for slow cooker creamed corn that will definitely impress.

Ingredients:

• 3 (15.25-ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into thin slices

Directions:

1. Place corn into a slow cooker. Stir in milk, sugar, and pepper until well combined. Without stirring, top with butter and cream cheese. Cover and cook on high heat for 2-3 hours.
2. Uncover and stir until butter and cream cheese are well combined. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 15 minutes.
3. Serve immediately.

8. No-bake Salted Caramel Pie

Baking a pie can be a lot of work. Thankfully, this pie is a delicious no-bake option!

Ingredients:

Pretzel Crust:

• 1 cup coarsely crushed pretzels
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sugar caramel filling:
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup caramel dessert topping
• 1 tablespoon McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:

• For the Crust, mix all ingredients in medium bowl. Press into bottom and up sides of 9-inch pie plate. Set aside.
• For the filling, beat cream cheese, caramel topping, and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in heavy cream just until blended. Beat on medium-high speed 2 minutes or until fluffy. Spoon mixture into crust.
• Refrigerate 3 hours or until set. Drizzle with additional caramel topping. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.

Hopefully, you use one of these recipes to impress Thanksgiving guests this holiday season.