Thanksgiving; a time of family, food and the sweet serenity of being home—oh the luxe of the little things—just kidding, sadly midterms are cramping most students’ style. Unfortunately, leaving to go home for the weekend is only for the elite. Those who lucked out and are stuck working or studying for upcoming mid-terms have no fear! I’ve got some options for you! Here are a few ideas to make your own thanksgiving traditions, if anything, look at this as a start to your grown up life; something to brag about to your parents who think cooking Mr. Noodles is a challenge for you. I’ve also included some of my own favourite recipes. I’m no Rachel Ray, but I pride myself on simple and delicious meals that won’t cost an arm and a leg.
Make it Easy
The first step to enjoying Thanksgiving away from home is to lower your expectations. It took years for your mom to master the thanksgiving feast, chances are you’re not going to whip up an extravagant dinner first go. Start simple. Bake a chicken rather than turkey; it is a lot faster and almost impossible to mess up. Maybe toss together your favourite salad, add some traditional mashed potatoes and indulge in a store bought apple pie (be sure to throw it in the oven first—make it as homemade as possible). Preparing a dinner will make this holiday more authentic.
Make it Collective
Make it a collective effort. Herd up all the stragglers that got left behind, roommates, classmates, maybe even that cute boy from your business class? There’s nothing worse than being alone, so don’t sulk, turn this into a social event. Hold a potluck— I mean realistically there is no better way to bond than over endless amounts of carbs and some cheap wine. Potlucks are also easy on the wallet; being responsible for one thing so you don’t need to pinch pennies and sacrifice great taste.
Make it Romantic
If you lucked out and found a special someone to spend this food feast of a night with, there are many ways to turn this evening into one that will make all your single friends jealous. I know there doesn’t seem to be anything romantic about conceiving a food baby, but you would be surprised how happy being overly full, and enduring a food coma, can be with that special someone! There are a few different routes for you two lovebirds to take; Option 1: Order some cheap take out, watch all those wonderful Charlie Brown reruns that YTV never fails to play and bask in the glory that you’re living the dream. Last year my boyfriend and I opted for Swiss Chalet, a few beers and whatever movies were on the W network. In theory, it may not sound all that exciting, but we made some good memories. Once that food starts to digest your full of energy for the after hour ‘activities’. Option 2: Make dinner together, find foods you both enjoy, light some candles, and relish each other’s company.
Now for the good stuff, any recipe I use, I make sure is flexible, so no, you won’t need the blood of a blue footed tree frog to make any of these dishes! Also, feel free to substitute and add any flavours or spices that you like. I rarely ever stick to the directions- add your own little twist and make it something you’ll want to cook again and again.
With that, I’ll start by introducing my mom’s rosemary baked potatoes. Beyond easy to make and it go with virtually anything.
You will need:
3 Yellow Potatoes (the amount will depend on how much you want to make)
Wash them but do not peel off the skins (it keeps ‘em crunchy when you bake them)
– 1 tspn Garlic Powder
– 1 teaspoon of Oregano
– 1 teaspoon of Paprika
– 1 or 2 teaspoon (s) of fresh or dried Rosemary
– Olive oil, vegtable oil, or Canola (which ever you prefer)
Preheat your oven to 375 C. Start off by chopping up potatoes into small diced squares. Put them in a bowl and add some olive oil, use enough to cover the potatoes, and then add the spices (these are just guidelines add as much or little of each as you like). Shake up the contents in a bowl, then dump it all in a glass baking dish. Pop that sucker in the oven and let them bake. After about 15 minutes, mix around the contents and then pop it back them until they are as crispy as you desire.
For the veggies…
Seeing how eating clean is a new trend, I’ll show you a simple way to eat those pesky greens. Since you’ve already got the oven going why bother sparking up the stove top? Let’s talk asparagus – as a child I hated it, it was stringy and tasted weird and the tops just confused me. However, when cooked properly asparagus isn’t actually that bad. It’s really good for you, and unbelievably easy to make.
You’ll need:
– A bundle of asparagus
– Butter or margarine
– Salt & pepper
Start off by taking a bundle of asparagus and cutting the bottom ends off (only about a half an inch). Wash them, and put them in another glass cooking dish. Sprinkle some salt and pepper, add a bit of butter or margarine and bake for roughly 7 minutes. (I rarely ever use a timer, so just be present and check up on your food periodically and you’ll be fine). Mix them around half way through the cooking time, and BOOM that’s it.
Lastly, the protein portion. For the sake of this small scale, almost basic thanksgiving dinner, I’ll use a small chicken; it seems fitting.
You’ll need:
– A small chicken
– Salt and pepper
– Garlic powder and butter or margarine (optional)
Start off by removing the plastic wrapper. Rinse off the chicken, put it in yet another glass cooking dish, sprinkle some salt and pepper on it. If you’re feeling adventurous take some garlic powder and butter and use it as a baste under the skin of the chicken. Sounds a little gnarly, but it definitely brings it to a whole other level! Throw it in the oven at 375 C. All you have to do is keep an eye on the chicken and after about an hour, or when it turns golden brown, she’s done.
Before:
After:
Side note: if you want to cook all these things at once, it’s possible. Just time it out, put the chicken in first, then after about half an hour put the potatoes in, cooking them at 375 is fine; don’t fret just keep an eye on them. In the last 7 or 8 minutes, turn the heat down to 350 and put in the asparagus, it’ll all be done the same time.
It may not be the full shebang and you might replace the cranberry sauce with ketchup, but it’s a pretty solid dinner considering. Regardless of how you end up spending Thanksgiving, just keep in mind: it is what you make it. If you have good company and food – well sounds like you’ve got something to be thankful for!
Photo Credits: Paulina van Schaik