Fun Dishes for and Unforgettable Friendsgiving

Being away from home during the holidays is something no one should have to experience, especially stressed out college students. Being around people who you love is one of the best parts of this time of year. It gives us a refresher and reminder that we can do virtually anything. If you can’t make it back home this season, you might need to gather a few friends and create a family gathering of your own. Have a Friendsgiving party to remind yourself of everything you have to be thankful for . If you do, here’s some cool dishes to make your Friendsgiving one that you’ll never forget.

1. Vegan Cornbread

Cornbread is an essential Thanksgiving food, so no Friendsgiving would be complete without it. If you’re like me and have vegan friends, though, there might be a problem if you make it the traditional way. This vegan recipe is quick, easy, and actually makes some pretty good cornbread. The ingredients include:

- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow corn meal
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/3 cup canola oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and combine the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Pour the mixed ingredients into a baking pan and let it bake for around 20 – 25 minutes. Once the time is up, poke the bread with a toothpick to ensure that it has been baked all the way through.

This is a simple recipe that can be enjoyed by anyone, even people who have not adopted a vegan diet. There aren’t a lot of true vegan alternatives to non-vegan food, so cooking and tasting this dish was a bit of a surprise. The almond milk makes them sweeter and moister than regular cornbread, so someone can still make biscuits if they really want to.

2. Roasted Chicken with Savory Croutons

Moving onto something that vegans will not eat, and an alternative to the boring Turkey that people seem to love so much: Chicken. I know, I know, it might sound like a regression in meats but this recipe will change the way you see chicken and meat you eat for Thanksgiving. This is for Friendsgiving, anyway. It’s okay to change it up a bit.

The ingredients are:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, more as needed
2 teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more as needed
1 4- to 5-pound chicken, patted dry
1 garlic head, sliced in half horizontally, through the cloves
1 bay leaf
½ lemon
½ bunch thyme sprigs
Country bread, ciabatta or other sturdy bread, preferably stale, sliced at least 1/2-inch thick

Begin by preheating the oven to 425 degrees and laying the bread crumbs in the pan, drizzling it with olive oil, salt, and pepper. The drippings that are released from the chicken while cooking will be soaked into the bread crumbs, adding another insatiable flavor to the dish. Pair it with a side salad for deliciously large croutons.

Rub the chicken with the remaining ingredients. Make sure you saturate and spread the ingredients evenly over the chicken. Stuff the chicken with the garlic, lemon, and thyme after rubbing it. Bake for an hour and a half, then poke with a knife to see if the juices released are clear. If they are, let it rest for ten minutes then dig in!

Turkey can become a fairly boring ritual, so try something different this Friendsgiving give those around you a big surprise. Plus, if you really like turkey, you can still have it for Christmas. (Ham is still the best Christmas meat, though.)

3. Classic Green Bean Casserole

Adding on another classic recipe to the list, you can’t go wrong with good old green bean casserole. Despite seeming complex, making this dish is a lot easier than people might realize. There’s not much you need besides the obvious ingredients. Once you have the ingredients, you just have to throw everything into a pan and bake it.

The ingredients are:

4 cups green beans
10.5 oz can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
dash of hot sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups crispy fried onions, divided

The oven should be preheated at 350 degrees. Make sure you clean or drain the green beans you use, whether that’s fresh, canned, or frozen. Combine all the ingredients into a large bowl, pour into a baking dish, and let it bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. After the time is up, sprinkle the fried onions over the casserole. You can either put the casserole back into the oven to get a little crispier or dig in! You can even change some ingredients to make it vegan.

4. Smashed Potatoes

I, for one, can never get tired of mashed potatoes, so I was confused when I learned that smashed potatoes was something people do, as well. This is another recipe that’s fairly easy and can be completed in about an hour.

The ingredients are:

1 lb. baby potatoes
Kosher salt
4 tbsp. melted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan

Boil the potatoes like you would do if you were making mashed potatoes. Instead of mashing though, rolls the balls in the ingredients above, and then flatten them. Roast the patties and you have smashed potatoes.

5. Stuffing

The last dish is admittedly a task, but making it from scratch is so much better than buying it from a bag at the grocery store. If you haven’t made it before, I suggest strictly following the recipe found here. The ingredients are: