The holiday season is full of family get-togethers and big dinners with your closest friends. Every year our kitchens become filled with chaos as we feverishly work to get everything perfectly prepared. If you're spending time in the kitchen this year in Texas, these are the side dishes you must include in your meal prep for it to be a success.

Texans Love Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are a staple of every Thanksgiving and Christmas menu in the Lone Star State. Heck, you can find deviled eggs almost any time of the year in Texas for that matter. We love them! If you want everyone happy at your holiday dinner table, you better have those eggs on a platter.

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There is one simple catch, though. They can't be just plain old deviled eggs. They need some kind of Texas twist to them. Jalapeno or some kind of set-your-butt-on-fire pepper is always a solid bet when cooking in Texas. I've even seen some people get creative and incorporate a touch of bacon in their recipes. Just don't make them plain.

It Isn't Texas If It Doesn't Come With Mac & Cheese

Macaroni and cheese isn't just for kids. It's for everyone, especially in Texas. It's one of the greatest comfort foods ever created by man, and it belongs somewhere in your holiday spread.

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Once again, don't go plain with it. The easiest and safest bet for mac and cheese in Texas is adding bacon to it. If you're in a hurry, use some of those bacon crumbles that are supposed to go on salads. It's better than nothing. If you really want to be a hero, use some actual bacon you've fried up. Crumble it up and mix it into your mac and cheese and you've got a certified winner of a dish.

Those Better Be Mashed Potatoes And Not Potato Flavored Paste

In Texas, we don't want our mashed potatoes to look like runny diner grits. It's another one of the top dishes in the Lone Star State, and it's pretty simple to see why. Mashed potatoes are a staple, and in Texas, we like ours to have some body to them, and you can usually earn bonus points for leaving it a little chunky. Use a little salt and cover it with pepper.

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The other part of this equation is the gravy that you're going to prepare along with your mashed potatoes. Don't you dare make some gravy-flavored water. It needs to be almost creamy. It should be exploding with flavor. Anything less isn't worth the effort.

These are the top three dishes according to the big brains at Jeffbet. They recently did a study and found that along with these dishes, potato salad, coleslaw, and green bean casserole are also at the top of the charts when it comes to dishes in the Lone Star State. Whatever it is that you're cooking, just remember that in Texas we want flavor and we want it hearty. Stick to those rules and you should be fine.

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