Everyone loves turkey during Thanksgiving, right? How about over 10,000 pounds of it? This year, all of the Campus Kitchens stepped up their games and over 800 volunteers put in over 2,000 hours to collect and prepare record amounts of food to provide Thanksgiving meals across the country. From canned food drives, to family-style community meals, each Campus Kitchen found creative and unique ways to keep bellies full in their communities this year.

Due to a huge increase in donations (over 70 whole turkeys!), The Campus Kitchen at the University of Massachusetts Boston was able to provide not only the children they feed on a weekly basis with a Thanksgiving meal, but also each child’s whole family!

The Campus Kitchen at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School ran a hugely successful canned food drive for the Samaritan Ministry Food Pantry, through which they collected over 1500 cans of food and over $5,000 worth of gift cards!

Always catering to the needs and requests of their clients, the Campus Kitchen at Washington University in St. Louis prepared a Mexican food feast for one of their agencies that wanted a little variety this holiday season!

The Campus Kitchen at John Hopkins University created a project this Thanksgiving that focused on more than just food but also incorporated other issues in their community. In addition to providing meals, students held a ‘sleep out’ with the Baltimore community as part of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week to promote awareness and support for those who are less fortunate in the community.

Partnering with Resident Life, the Campus Kitchen at Elon University hosted a Turkeypalooza “Battle of the Areas” competition, crowning a winner based on the percentage of food donated by each area on campus!

As seen through the variety of events and programs each Campus Kitchen participated in, it is easy to see that Turkeypalooza was a great success this year! Students and community members alike had much to be thankful for this holiday season!

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The Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University walloped their turkey count from last year, accumulating nearly 150 turkeys to feed Spokane, Washington residents.

In the peak of a regional snowstorm, the Campus Kitchen at Minnesota State University, Mankato, successfully delivered hand-made greeting cards with grocery bags full of all the Thanksgiving fixings.

At the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, the Campus Kitchen connected with five non-traditional student families to prepare entire Thanksgiving meals with all of the trimmings for busy single parents to heat and serve.

For their first-ever Turkeypalooza, the Campus Kitchen at University of Massachusetts Boston pulled off a successful “Take your Turkey to Work Day”.

The Campus Kitchen at Washington and Lee fed clients of all ages and backgrounds in honor of Turkey Day, including the Rockbridge Area Occupational Center, an organization that works with outside agencies to provide center-based employment for people with disabilities.

View more pictures below:

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Wondering what’s stuffed inside Turkeypalooza? Gobble this down.

• The Campus Kitchen at Washington and Lee caught this child’s reaction to a delicious turkey dinner on video.
• At the Campus Kitchen at University of Florida has been canned- and they’re pretty happy about it.
• The coordinator at University of Massachusetts Boston gives us a 360 degree tour of her office full of donations after one day of Turkeypalooza Day 1.
• At St. Louis University, volunteers brined their turkeys (which looks like this) for the second year in a row!
• In its first year holding Turkeypalooza, the Campus Kitchen at University of Virginia fed 200 with this awesome poster and help from the community.
• The Daily Northwestern covered the Campus Kitchen at Northwestern University’s massive Turkeypalooza effort.
• The local TV News showed up to the Campus Kitchen at Wake Forest University’s Turkeypalooza cooking event.
• Read more about all the Thanksgiving feeding efforts on our #Turkeypalooza twitter feed. Also check our CK Local Events Calendar for information on a Turkeypalooza near you.

Stay-tuned as more Campus Kitchens carve into distinctive Turkey Day events.

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Tip # 1 – Brussels Sprouts  (Golden-Crusted)

Many people identify Brussels Sprouts as a loathed food item, but when prepared in the right way, these little green morsels of goodness can make even the staunchest hater into a bonafide lover (I will admit, I am biased). The tastiest sprouts will be small and tightly closed.

You Need:

• 24 Brussels Sprouts
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/4 cup cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don’t overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they’re tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese.

This recipe is a favorite from 101 Cookbooks.

*****

Tip # 2 – Parsnips (mashed with garlic and potatoes)

Parsnips are a close relative of the carrot, but they have a creamier texture when cooked and more of a celery flavor. They are harvested after the first fall frost; the cold actually makes them sweeter! You can roast them, mash them, or put them in a stew. This is a innovative spin on a classic favorite

You Need:

• 1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cloves diced garlic
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup sour cream (optional)
• salt to taste

Cover parsnips and potatoes with cold water in a 6 large pot, then add 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil, partially covered. Reduce heat and simmer vegetables, partially covered, until very tender but not falling apart, 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, bring milk, butter,and  pepper to a simmer in 4-quart heavy pot over moderate heat. Drain vegetables in a colander. Use a potato masher to mash to desired consistency. Add salt to taste, and sour cream and parsley if you so wish.

*****

Tip # 3 – Potatoes (boiled and browned)

A staple winter vegetable, no festive holiday meal is complete without them! This rendition isn’t mashed (left that for the parsnips above), but is quite delicious and will keep people asking for more.

You Need:

• 1 lb of small potatoes
• 2 (or more!) tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 2 tablespoons freshly snipped chives

Clean potatoes and put in a large pot.  Cover with water making sure there is about 3 inches of water above the potatoes.  Bring to a boil and let cook until just tender enough to insert a fork, about 15-20 minutes.  Drain.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, add the butter and olive oil.  Once the butter is melted add the potatoes. With a fork gently press down on each potato breaking the skin and smashing them a bit.  You don’t want to break them up, just open them up a little.  Sprinkle with the salt and let brown on that side without turning.

When they are nice and brown, turn each potato over and let them brown.  Once they have browned nicely on the second side add the chives and serve.

*****

Tip # 4 – Turnips (as baked fries)

Turnips have a slightly sweeter flavor than potatoes, with a hint of cabbage. This root vegetable can be eaten raw and is a great addition to salad, or it can be roasted, sautéed or thrown in a soup. This preparation is a refreshing twist on the french fry.

You Need:

• 2 medium turnips, cut into equal sized sticks
• 3 Tbsp oil of your choice
• Seasonings (smoked paprika, salt and garlic are my favorite combination)

Preheat the oven to 400. Toss the turnip sticks in with the oil and seasonings. Lay the turnip sticks evenly spaced on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes, checking after 15 minutes.

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Tip # 5 – Carrots (roasted with sage)

Carrots often make their grand appearance as an appetizer, cut up raw and dipped in something. Cooking them brings out their natural sweetness without adding sugar (which many recipes will tell you to do).

You Need:

• 1 pound carrots
• 1-2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 4 sage leaves
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Add the carrots to a large pot of simmering water, seasoned with salt; cook until just tender then remove from the water and plunge into an ice water bath to cool. Once cooled, cut the carrots  into halves or quarters, depending on preferred size. Add to a roasting pan and toss with the smashed garlic, sage, rosemary, olive oil, white wine vinegar and a pinch of salt.  Place into the oven and roast for about 30 minutes.  The  carrots should become slightly golden.

(This recipe is also really nice with beets. Substitute half a pound of the carrots for golden beets. Peel them after they are cooled and proceed as normal).

More ideas for great sides to make with vegetables? Leave them here!

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The Director of Dining Services learned from Coordinator Amy Bachman that the Campus Kitchen was shopping for a new freezer at the beginning of the semester.

“We were looking to buy a freezer and asked if they could get it cheaper. We were expecting maybe a discount?” says Bachman.

A month later, Dining Services had researched freezers based on the Campus Kitchen needs and space, purchased a new General Electric freezer, and delivered it to the Campus Kitchen’s small off-campus space free of charge.

Bachman says the delivery of the freezer at this time is critical because the Campus Kitchen had just one freezer for preparation and storage space.

“We get a lot of bread donated to us that has to go through our freezer as we use it in meals,” says Bachman. “It has allowed us to take in all of our bagels that we get donated and store them a lot closer to where we are doing the pickups.”

Bachman also says the Turkeypalooza food drive the Campus Kitchen will host to get turkeys and stuffing for its community partner, the Franciscan Center in Baltimore, would not be possible without the extra freezer space.

“If we only had our one freezer we would have needed to take the turkeys directly from the donor to the agency,” says Bachman.

Beyond the holidays, the freezer will hold produce from the Johns Hopkins University Campus Garden for the Campus Kitchen to serve during new, weekly nutrition education classes taught by volunteers at Waverly Middle School.

Now that her freezer dreams are fulfilled, Bachman says her kitchen is working on recovering more food from local restaurants, but offers this advice to other Campus Kitchens on seeking donations:

“You don’t really know what you’re going to get unless you ask for it and let people know what your needs are.”

Read more about the donation here.

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Tip # 1 - Sweet Potato Casserole (a new twist on an old classic)

• 5 sweet potatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash. In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned

Tip # 2 - Sweet Potato Fries with Garlic & Fried Sage

• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 12 fresh sage leaves
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced to a paste
• 1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled, halved, and cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces
• coarse salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F with rack in upper third of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Heat oil in a small heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then fry sage leaves in two batches, stirring, until crisp, 30 seconds to 1 minute per batch. Transfer with a slotted spoon or tongs to paper towels to drain. Remove pan from heat, reserving oil. Put potatoes and garlic in a large bowl. Sprinkle generously with coarse salt, then toss with reserved oil. Spread potatoes evenly on the lined baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, turn potatoes over, and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until potatoes are tender and browning in spots. Roughly crumble fried sage over the potatoes, add more coarse salt to taste, and serve immediately.

Tip # 3 - Sweet Potato Cornmeal Biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 (15-ounce) can sweet potatoes drained and mashed or 1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal and baking powder. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture looks like coarse meal. Add sweet potato, milk, and honey, stir until just combined. Turn dough onto heavily floured work surface, knead lightly only 5 times. Pat dough into 9-inch square, cut into 16 squares. Place biscuits on prepared pan. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Tip # 4 – Southwestern Sweet Potato Salad

• 6 cups peeled sweet chunks (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 2/3 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 2/3 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon jarred jalapeno slices

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat foil lined baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. On prepared pan, toss together sweet potatoes, salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon olive oil. roast about 30 minutes or until potatoes are crisp. Cool. In large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, red bell pepper, red onion, corn, black beans and cilantro. In blender, puree lime juice, garlic, jalapeno and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss with potato mixture and serve.

Tip # 5 - Balsamic and Arugula Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 2 cups fresh arugula
• 4-8 spirals of Prosciutto, cooked until crispy
• Really good aged balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper
• Shaved Asiago or Parmesan cheese for grating

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash sweet potatoes, and place in oven. Bake potatoes until they are tender, anywhere from 35 minutes to an hour. Let cool for 5 minutes and the cut in half. Scoop a little bit of the flesh of the potato out of each half and place in a re-sealable container for another use. Top each sweet with 1/2 cup arugula, 1-2 pieces of prosciutto crumbled, salt, pepper,  a drizzle of balsamic, and some shaved asiago cheese.

Endless Possibilities!

You can use sweet potatoes in just about any place you would use white potatoes:

• Mashed
• In soup
• Bake and top with sour cream and chives
• In potato salad
• French fries
• Latkes

For a quick side dish, peel, shred, and sauté with butter or olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar, or sprinkle of herbs or shredded cheese. (Also try tossing with pasta!)

Sweet potatoes also taste great raw: cut them into sticks for a new addition to the veggie platter, or shred them for salads.

For more sweet potato ideas, click here!

Or if you have a favorite that you want to share, post it here.

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What began as a friendly canned food drive contest between student organizations ended with 9000 pounds of donated non-perishables to help feed the hungry of Greenville, N.C.

Winn said she worked with East Carolina University’s Homecoming Committee to become the beneficiary of the canned food drive contest, a campus tradition. In return for canned goods of their choice, Campus Kitchen volunteers agreed to receive the donations at the local food bank and process them.

“We had people bring in cranberry sauce,” says Winn. “Since we’re about to do Turkeypalooza, we were really excited to have a piece of our meal already donated.”

Winn worked alongside one other Campus Kitchen supporter and one member of the Homecoming committee for four hours to sort through the cans, which were coming in so fast, they needed to use forklifts to move them.

Volunteers then sorted donations of green beans, canned potatoes, raviolis, corn, soups, and cake mixes by food type and checked all the expiration dates. Winn says she decided to take 1000 pounds of food for the Campus Kitchen and leave the rest for the local food bank.

At the next cooking shift Winn says she will begin integrating the donations, and is excited about making use of them for Turkeypalooza.

Her advice to other Campus Kitchens: “Have more people there; more hands. Be aware of how much food you are going to get. Also, we didn’t quite pay attention to the expiration dates when we first went through it. Pay attention early on so you don’t have to process the cans twice.”

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Thanks to the work of 28 Campus Kitchens and a swelling volunteer force this November, hungry individuals and families will gobble up Thanksgiving meals with all the trimmings this Turkey Day.

Turkeypalooza is the network-wide effort of The Campus Kitchens Project to ensure all mouths are fed during the month that many Americans share bountiful meals. This year, Campus Kitchens new and old will ready their carving knives, running canned food drives, take your turkey to work day, special meal preparation, turkey basket making, and community feasts for a days of deliciousness, and too much tryptophan.

The Campus Kitchen at St. Louis University will help kick off Turkeypalooza with events beginning November 12 with a “Take your Turkey to Work Day”. The day allows student groups, faculty and staff from different departments the chance to provide the most important part of the Turkey Day meal. Volunteers are also collecting canned goods, which will supply as many as 600 hungry people with meals in the St. Louis area.

Some Campus Kitchens are offering clients more than the meal. In addition to prepping turkey with all the trimming to be served on Thanksgiving, the Campus Kitchen at Minnesota State University, Mankato will distribute grocery bags, they’ll host a unique fundraiser to serve the community two-fold. Volunteers can donate funds and decorate a special Thanksgiving card.

Other kitchens, like the Campus Kitchen at University of Nebraska Kearney, will celebrate the holiday by serving double portions of mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, fresh rolls, stuffing and turkey to their community partners. Using the meal as an awareness building tool, the Campus Kitchen will make special decorations to include in the meal with hunger and food insecurity facts.

Several other Campus Kitchens will hold community dinner-style Turkeypalooza events, from a city-wide meal in Cleveland Tenn. to five different meal services in November at Augsburg College.

For more information on Turkeypalooza events or how to get involved, please view and click through the calendar below.

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Tip # 1 – The Sauce

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 1 cup pinot noir (or water)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 unpeeled orange, seeded and sliced thinly in circles
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 stick cinnamon
• Dried fruit or candied ginger, chopped (optional)

Add sugar to wine or water and bring to a boil. Add cranberries and all other ingredients. Allow to come back to a boil, then simmer gently 15-20 minutes.

Tip # 2 – Squash and Cranberries Baked in Maple Syrup

• 2 pounds acorn squash, peeled and sliced into 1 inch slices
• 12 oz. fresh cranberries, washed
• ½ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup water
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp ginger
• pinch cayenne

Preheat over to 350 degrees

Place squash and cranberries in a shallow casserole dish.  In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and then pour them over the squash and cranberries.  Bake, uncovered for 1 hour or until squash is well cooked and the cranberries are soft, turning squash pieces over once during that time.  Serve hot from the casserole with a bit of the liquid.

Tip # 3 – Throw some Cranberries in your Apple Crisp!

In my post about Peaches I made one last suggestion about my favorite thing to do with (almost over) ripe fruit. Throwing cranberries in there adds a great tart flavor which contrasts nicely with the great taste of apples as they bake. Prepare this dish just as you would with other fruit (apples, or peaches as I recommend in the post linked above) and add a little extra sugar with the cranberries to ensure that their tartness doesn’t overpower your mouth!

Tip # 4 – Cranberry Relish

• 12 oz frozen cranberries
• ½ cup Sugar
• 2 Anaheim Chilies, stems and seeds removed, chopped
• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ to 1 red onion
• Juice of 1 lime
• ½ bunch cilantro

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until chopped!

Tip # 5 – Pickled Cranberries

• 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained, or frozen berries
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 5-6 cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon whole allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 2- to 3-inch cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon peeled and roughly chopped fresh ginger

Combine all of the ingredients with 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Pour the pickled cranberries into decorative glass jars or plastic containers. Cover with the remaining liquid and attach lids. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. They get better the longer you keep them.

These 5 tips are just to get you started. If you have a favorite way to cook your cranberries, share it here!

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That’s where pumpkin cookies come in.

This Turkeypalooza, a few campus kitchens took cues from each other and swapped baking sheets for pie tins. The result: easy to make, bake, and take pumpkin cookies delivered in hundreds of meals around the country.

The Campus Kitchen at Gonzaga University coordinator Emily Paulson passed along the recipe she based off of a Foodnetwork.com recipe. Even though Turkey Day has come and gone, these gooey, spiced treats are a welcome addition to any meal all winter long.

** A note from Emily: “I like to add in oatmeal and increase the pumpkin by a little.  It makes the cookies a little meatier.”**

The finished product: dozens of CKGU's pumpkin cookies

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Recipe courtesy of Beth Setrakian

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 6 dozen Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup cooked, pureed pumpkin (fresh or canned)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups unbleached allpurpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup raisins

Icing:

• 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons whipping cream, fresh orange juice or rum

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla and mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir into butter mixture until well blended. Add nuts and raisins. Drop by teaspoonful onto parchment covered baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake about 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool.

Icing: Cream confectioners’ sugar and butter. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. (If icing is too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar; if too thick, add more cream, orange juice or rum.) Drizzle over cookies.

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