It’s almost Thanksgiving and most of your classmates are heading home for great big family feasts, but you’re stuck in Eugene. This holiday is all about gluttony, the tastiest of the seven deadly sins. Being on your own doesn’t mean you can’t still indulge. The Scene desk has compiled some easy recipes for Thanksgiving staples — some with a student spin — so you can still stuff yourself silly on Thursday.
Quick pan-seared cutlets by Rebecca Sedlak
Making a turkey yourself as a college student is absurd. We just don’t have the time, thanks to looming finals. But if you’re doing Thanksgiving away from home this year, there is an easy way to still add meat to your Thanksgiving plate. Try regular pan-seared chicken or turkey cutlets; they’re quick, easy and tasty.
Ingredients:
2 to 4 chicken or turkey cutlets
Olive oil
Salt, pepper and thyme to taste
Directions:
1. Season your chicken or turkey cutlets.
2. Heat oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Add the cutlets and cook about five to seven minutes per side. The outside should be nicely browned and the inside should be fully cooked and moist. Serve with Thanksgiving side dishes and enjoy!
Sweet potato fries by Alando Ballantyne
This is an easy and delicious take on the Thanksgiving classic yams in french fry form, because we all know how much students like fries.
Ingredients:
2-5 sweet potatoes, depending on size or number of people
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
Salt, pepper and seasonings to taste
Classic and filling, mashed potatoes are simple to prepare and can be made for cheap in a variety of different ways. This recipe targets ingredients that are commonly found in the fridge or pantry, leaving a small grocery list and a stress-free side dish for Thanksgiving dinner. For variety, try adding grated cheddar or Parmesan cheese, roasted garlic or milk for a heavy cream.
Directions:
2.. Peel and dice the potatoes. Keep in mind that the larger the potato pieces, the longer they will take to cook.
Serve with gravy, which can be bought in pre-prepared packets at most grocery stores (all that is needed is to add water and stir), or look up a gravy recipe in your favorite recipe book or online.
Green bean casserole by Amanda Barker
Thanksgiving just isn’t the same without this hearty dish. Follow the recipe to a T and you will surely have the best holiday yet. @@That’s optimistic@@
Ingredients:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. soy sauce
Black pepper
4 cups cooked and cut green beans
1 1/3 cups french fried onions
Directions:
1. Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in a casserole dish.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Stir the mixture and sprinkle on the rest of the onions.
3. Bake for another five minutes
Pumpkin cookies by Kelly Ardis
Pumpkin pie is a classic holiday dessert. Update the classic by making pumpkin cookies with glaze on top. The sticky batter can give the cookies different and interesting (read: wonky) shapes, but that’s part of the charm. Plus, everyone will know you made them yourself.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, cut butter into cubes and gradually add sugar to cream the two ingredients together. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla to the mixture and stir until smooth. Then mix in the ingredients from the first bowl.
3. Place dollops on a cookie tray, using a spoon to flatten them a bit. Consistency of size can be tricky, as the batter is sticky, but the more consistent the size, the more consistently they’ll cook. Bigger cookies will need more time to bake, smaller ones will need less.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
5. While your cookies are baking, start on your glaze. Combine powdered sugar, milk, melted butter and vanilla in a bowl and stir until smooth. Once your cookies have come out of the oven and had some time to cool, glaze them to your choosing: coat them top to bottom or artfully drizzle the glaze. You can’t go wrong either way!