For some students, Thanksgiving dinner means taking a break from simple college apartment dinners and getting spoiled by mom’s homestyle cooking. But for those who won’t be going home this week, Thursday’s meal can pose a big challenge. Students who are staying in town to tackle their own Thanksgiving feasts have a variety of options for making the dinner easy and creative.
Preparation of the Thanksgiving turkey might seem overwhelming, but knowing the secrets of making a succulent bird ahead of time can improve your results. Lane Community College Executive Chef John Onstenk said allowing for adequate thawing and cooking time, as well as letting the turkey reach the correct temperature, is important. University Housing Chef Bill Town said that a turkey isn’t fully cooked until its juices run clear.
Onstenk mentioned that students need to avoid getting raw turkey juices near their faces or on the countertops.
“Food safety is a big concern this time of year; it’s when we see more food-born illnesses,” he said.
Town suggested easy recipes for stuffing and gravy that don’t involve from-the-box
ingredients.
“For stuffing, get breadcrumbs and ground sage and mix it with melted butter and chicken stock,” he said. “My mother always put in water chestnuts and mushrooms, and celery and onions have always been stuffing mainstays. For turkey gravy, take the drippings from the bottom of the pan and mix it with flour and water.”
For a change of pace on Thanksgiving, Town said lasagna, with a little pork sausage mixed in with ground meat for extra spice, is a great dish to serve.
“It’s simple, and it’s something all of us can afford,” he said.
If a group of Thanksgiving diners are only able to make it through half a turkey, they might wonder what to do with all those leftovers. Besides turkey sandwiches for lunch every day, the meat can be used for some creative dinner options. Onstenk said turkey enchiladas and turkey with dumplings are great dishes, and Town suggested a turkey noodle casserole with vegetables.
University graduate Nikki Ferguson took on the task of preparing Thanksgiving dinner at her friend’s apartment last year when neither of them were able to make it home, and she said the culinary aspect was very successful with a little over-the-phone help from her mother.
“We had a whole feast,” she said. “We had turkey, homemade macaroni and cheese, stuffing, peach cobbler, green beans, mashed potatoes and Franzia wine. I called my mom like 16 times that day.”
For students who want to take the easy way out in the kitchen, there are a number of simple, pre-made options. They can purchase a pre-cooked turkey breast which only needs to be heated for an hour, canned vegetables and cranberry sauce, instant potatoes and stuffing, frozen biscuits, packaged turkey gravy and pumpkin pie from the grocery store’s bakery section. Town, who said he didn’t go home for the holiday on several occasions when he was in college, added that spending time with friends is the last essential ingredient to making a successful Thanksgiving dinner.
“(My friends and I) used to go to a movie and just spend time together, which is really important,” he said. “If you can’t go home with a friend, stay here with a friend.”

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