Allyssa Ertz | Contributing Writer

The only holiday better than Thanksgiving is two of them! In college, the best way to celebrate is having your own “Friendsgiving!” You can have a great Thanksgiving by celebrating with friends all while bringing your own food to eat. Local grocery stores will have main items such as rotisserie chicken or turkey already cooked along with desserts like pie. Here are some recipes to add to that:

One-pot mac and cheese:

The first item to assign to your dinner is one-pot mac and cheese! This is easy and is about the same as using the box recipe. It uses replacements making the results much tastier. You’ll need one and a half cups of whole milk, one to three fourths cups water, 8 ounces of small elbow macaroni, a half a teaspoon of salt, and four ounces of extra sharp cheddar cheese.

Combine the milk, water, macaroni, salt and pepper in a medium pot set over medium heat. Bring to a low simmer and stir. Make sure nothing clumps or boils over. When it is done simmering, change the heat to low and stir for eight to ten minutes. If additional water is needed, add it one fourth of a cup at a time. When it looks creamy and well mixed, gradually stir in your cheese. Salt and pepper can also be added for taste at this point.

Mashed potatoes:

What’s Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes? They are easy to make right out of the box on stovetop. If you want to make them extra yummy, add cream cheese, whole milk, cream and butter at the end of cooking.

French onion dip:

Crackers and dip is an addition to this meal that is extremely easy to prepare. For a simple French Onion dip, grab a container of sour cream, half a cup of mayonnaise, and one package of Knorr French Onion recipe mix. All you need to do is mix these all together in a bowl. You can refrigerate if you like. Serve with your favorite crackers!

Vegetable platter:

Another easy addition is a vegetable platter. This can be used with the dip also! And you can choose all the vegetables your friends love.

Pumpkin no bake cookies:

What’s for dessert? How about some pumpkin no bake cookies to set the theme? You’ll need one and a half sticks of unsalted butter, two cups of granulated sugar, two thirds of a cup of milk, one teaspoon vanilla extract, a fourth of a cup of powdered vanilla coffee creamer, one 3.4 ounce package of dry instant pumpkin spice pudding mix, an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, a fourth teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, and four cups minute oats.

First, add the butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla to a large pot. This should be brought to a boil for two minutes. Take this away from the heat when done and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Once they are all mixed together, take spoonfuls and place them on some wax paper. Let them set.

Add all these together, and you have an easy, yummy Friendsgiving dinner to share with all of the friends you are thankful for. That may sound cheesy, but isn’t that what the holiday is all about? This is a fun, easy, and inexpensive way to celebrate the holidays when you’re away from home!