November and onwards is my favorite time of the year because of the upcoming holidays and festivities. Thanksgiving is the weekend that most of us look forward too because of a variety of reasons but whatever your reason is, who doesn’t love good food with family and friends? I know there will be a few of you who won’t be traveling back home this Thanksgiving break, so here are a couple of recipes you can make in your dorm with a few friends.
Cheesey Bread
You need good bread at the table, especially if you end up having extra sauces and gravy left over the next day. If you love cheese, then you’ll love this recipe I found for Cheese and Garlic Crack Bread.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
What You’ll Need:
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Loaf of bread (sourdough works best)
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Shredded Cheese of your choice (Mozzarella and sharp cheddar are ones I recommend)
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7 tablespoons softened butter
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2 garlic cloves, minced
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Pinch of salt
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1 tablespoon chopped parsley
While the oven is preheating at 350F, melt the butter and mix in garlic, salt and parsley. Next, cut the bread without cutting all the way through. You want to be able to move pieces of bread at the top of the loaf without actually cutting the loaf into pieces. Fill in the “cracks” of bread you just made with a little bit of the butter mix and cheese. Wrap up the loaf in some aluminum foil and bake the loaf in the oven until the cheese has melted.
Of course if you don’t like cheese, you can take that out of the recipe and make garlic bread with a softer loaf of bread.
Pumpkin Pie Bites
I get way too excited when I see the pumpkin puree cans at the grocery store around this time of the year. My personal favorite to make is Pumpkin Pie Bites. They’re really easy to make and because they’re smaller than a traditional pie, they’re easier to store in your mini-fridge in your dorm.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
What You’ll Need:
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Pre-made pie crusts that are ready to roll
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1 package cream cheese softened
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1 cup pumpkin puree
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½ cup sugar
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2 eggs
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or make your own with ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ginger and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg)
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Whipped cream (optional)
While your oven is preheating to 350F, spray some non-stick cooking spray in a mini muffin pan. Roll out the dough or pie crust with a little bit of flour. Use a cup or a small cookie cutter to cut out small enough rounds of dough to fill in the muffin pan. Mix together cream cheese and sugar until it’s smooth then add 1 egg at a time. Add in the pumpkin puree slowly along with the spice and vanilla extract. Put in a spoonful of the mixture into each mini pie crust and bake them until the edges of the crusts are golden. You can top these with whipped cream or more cinnamon if you’d like.
Cranberry-Cornbread Stuffing
A Thanksgiving dinner is almost incomplete without cranberries and cornbread. Try this stuffing with your turkey this year.
What You’ll Need:
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2 cups of pecans
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1 ½ sticks of butter
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3 onions diced
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¼ cup oregano leaves chopped
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cornbread
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1 loaf of bread cut into cubes
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3 eggs
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2 cups dried cranberries
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1 cup parsley chopped
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1 tablespoon black peppyer
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½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
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1 quart chicken broth
Preheat the often to 350F then spread the pecans in a baking sheet. Bake the pecans until they’re golden and then set the pecans aside. Melt butter in a skillet on medium heat and add onions and oregano. After the onions cook for 10 minutes, transfer this into a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and then cook the stuffing either with the turkey or in a baking pan. Cover with foil and bake for at least 35 minutes.
These are a few recipes you can try this year along with your current favorites. For those who will be traveling back home, we hope you have a safe trip and a good time with close ones.