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Thanksgiving has traditionally been held at my parents’ house, which means I have only had to worry about bringing a side dish or two. I haven’t had to worry about decorations, a Thanksgiving tablescape, or hosting a lot of people. This year, my mom is thinking of switching things up and having me host. In preparation, I have been planning and practicing some new takes on old favorite recipes, and setting up a Thanksgiving table that will wow the family, all on a budget. I’ve got to give credit to Target, because I was able to pick up everything for the table and my Thanksgiving recipes in one shopping trip!
Let’s begin with the table. I decided to skip the traditional tablecloth and go with something a little different. Target’s party-supply brand, Spritz, makes a brown paper roll that I spread over the table. I thought the brown paper lent itself to a simple time, which Thanksgiving comes from, and I thought it would be fun for everyone to write on it the things they are thankful for. I then sprinkled Spritz confetti over the top. Spritz makes matching name tags, banners and table runners. I just used a Sharpie to write on the banner to give it a Thanksgiving flair.
I sprinkled in some stuffed woodland creatures, a fall wreath and pinecones, and that’s all there really is to it. The table was super easy to put together, but I couldn’t be more pleased with how it came out. I also love that I didn’t have to spend a fortune on it.
For the food, I turned to Archer Farms for a fun twist to some traditional dishes. I jazzed up the traditional spinach and pecan salad with a raspberry-and-bacon twist. All you need:
- Whatever green salad mix you like
- A couple of Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
- Fresh raspberries
- Archer Farms applewood thick-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
- Red onion, thinly sliced
- Pecans
- Archer Farms raspberry balsamic vinaigrette
Then for dessert, many of you may be familiar with pumpkin dump cake, which is a pumpkin mixture with white or yellow cake mix over the top.
I decided to change things up and use Archer Farms cranberry-orange scone mix instead of the traditional cake mix. Boy was this tasty! This added some fun new flavors and was a cool way to change things up, if you don’t like getting stuck in a rut with your Thanksgiving dishes.
Cranberry Orange Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
- Archer Farms Cranberry Orange Scone Mix
- 1 can 16 oz. pumpkin pie filling
- 1 can 12 oz. evaporated milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease bottom of 8x8 pan.
- In a bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar and salt then pour into your pan.
- Sprinkle dry Cranberry Orange Scone Mix evenly over pumpkin mixture and drizzle with melted butter.
- Bake for 55 minutes or until top is turning golden brown. Cool completely and drizzle prepared scone topping over the top, if desired. cut and serve.
Renee says
Your recipe sounds delicious! Sounds perfect for my family. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!