Happy FRIENDSGIVING!! Tis the season to celebrate, make great food, and share it among friends!
So excited to be partnering with Whole Foods Market 365 this holiday season for a delicious, easy, and healthy Friendsgiving Menu for 8!
This blog is done in partnership with Whole Foods Market 365, all thoughts, opinions, and recipes are my own!
Living in Cleveland is great, we have lots of great grocery stores at our fingertips, and just down the road in Akron, Ohio, is a new Whole Foods Market 365. WFM365 is the same quality ingredients, but with a really attractive price point, local area touches, and thanks to the Amazon Prime Partner App, there are even more deals to snatch up!
I walked into the store wanting to entertain some friends for the holidays, and I know the holidays can be overwhelming, but entertaining on a budget doesn’t have to be! I am so excited to share this quick & easy menu with you all, as I was able to shop for my party of 8, for $75, and have it all ready in an hour! I made a cheeseboard, salad, homemade muffins, and an entree for less than $10 per person. Here’s how I did it!
I make sure to buy in bulk for the ingredients on sale- such as apples, spinach, and sweet potatoes. The easy to use scales at WFM365 tell you exactly how much things weigh and how much it’ll cost you at the register, so there are no surprises at check-out! Lucky for me, apples were extra on sale once I scanned my amazon prime app, making them a real steal, and I used them in two of the dishes!
I also bought some pre-cut veggies for my turkey chili. It allowed me to add variety to my soup, without having to buy 5 different ingredients, when I only needed a portion of each. I made sure to utilize the same ingredients in multiple dishes, like canned cranberry jelly, the apples, and walnuts! I also made sure to purchase on sale pantry items, like canned tomatoes, pumpkin puree, and beans. I tried to stick to Thanksgiving flavors by adding breakfast sausage, full of sage and rosemary, to my chili, and using classic components like cranberry sauce in fun ways, like a salad dressing, and adding it to butter for warm cornbread muffins. Let’s dig in!
Cheeseboard.
serves 8
How;
I grabbed a pre-selected Emmi Roth cheeseboard (with labels, bonus!), some sliced prosciutto, sliced fresh baguette, and some apples, and arranged them on a tray. This is such a quick appetizer, and a cheese-board is a great way to start a night. It looks impressive, but isn’t complicated, giving you more time to complete the rest of your final touches!
Roasted Apple Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
serves 8
How;
Grab two bundles of fresh spinach, cut the stems off, rinse, and dry on a kitchen towel. Preheat oven to 400, and slice apples into small slices, away from core. Toss with 1 tsp of cinnamon, and roast for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes have passed, add 1/4 cup walnuts to your baking sheet, and roast for 5-8 more minutes, until apples are soft, and walnuts are light brown and toasted. After you remove them from the oven, allow them to cool, and prepare your dressing. Mix 1/4 cup canned cranberry jelly with 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of honey, & 1/4 cup olive oil. Add roasted apples, walnuts, and crumbled goat cheese to a bed of spinach. Serve family style, and let everyone drizzle with dressing at the table!
Cornbread Stuffin’-Muffins with Cranberry Butter
makes 16
How;
Prepare Cornbread muffin mix according to package, by adding eggs, milk, and a neutral cooking oil. Then, soak one cup of cornbread stuffing mix in 1/2 cup of warm milk, allowing the mix to soften. Combine soaked stuffing mix with cornbread mix, and scoop into muffin tins. Bake per box instructions. While the muffins are baking, mix 1 stick of softened butter with 1/4 cup canned cranberry jelly, and once muffins are done, spread a heaping spoonful of the fruity butter on the warm muffins. delicious! Serve these with the main course, our Root Vegetable, Turkey, Pumpkin, Chili.
Root Vegetable Turkey Pumpkin Chili
serves 8
How;
In a large soup pot, sauté 1 package of WFM365 root veggie medley with 1lb ground turkey breast, and 1lb of Chicken Breakfast Sausage. Cook until meat is browned, and then add 1/4 cup chili powder, 1/4 cup ground cumin, and 1 small can of tomato paste. Add 2 large sweet potatoes, diced, 1 large can of fire roasted tomatoes, 4 cups of water, and bring to a simmer. Cover soup, cook on low for 30-45 minutes, and add 2 cups of assorted beans, like black and pinto, and 1 can of pumpkin puree. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes, and season with salt and pepper. Serve with fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, and your choice of sour cream or plain yogurt!
I hope you love these recipes as much as my friends and I did, and if you’re ever in the area of a local Whole Foods Market 365, be sure to check them out, your party planning budget will thank you! Let me know if these recipes make it to your table, and be sure to tag me on instagram, @thatswhatsheeats, so I can keep up with your foodie journey! Happy Friendsgiving to you all!
-Aubrey
#thatswhatsheeats