Julia Magee
Connector Editor

Thanksgiving is a time for rest, but mostly for catching up on homework. It’s also a time for eating. There comes a time for every generation to pick up the figurative torch, aka the burden of cooking better than Gen X ever could. Millennials only recently proved this by putting a contemporary spin on the traditional, depressingly unseasoned, classics. While a bit over the top at times, millennials laid the groundwork and taught Gen Z an important lesson: Thanksgiving dinner can be enjoyable, and you can wrap anything in crescent rolls.

Now that Gen Z is in their early 20s, it’s time to contribute. With a packed schedule of sleeping, homework and a budget of zero dollars, this is quite the ask. To help all those in need, here are some cheap, low-effort recipes to keep the relatives at bay.

While these recipes aren’t revolutionary, they elevate the classics with a couple of simple extra steps.

Better than Stove Top stuffing

(“Three-Bread Stuffing” courtesy of Sandra Lee, Food Network)

This recipe uses half a loaf of sourdough, half a loaf of rye and a 14 ounce bag of cornbread mix. Cube and bake the two half-loaves to dry them out, or leave the cut bread out overnight to get stale. Chop one cup of onions, three stalks of celery and two medium carrots and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Once the vegetables have cooled, add the stale bread and cornbread mix. In a separate bowl, whisk two cups of chicken broth, one cup of turkey gravy, two beaten eggs and one tablespoon of poultry seasoning. Mix this in with the bread mixture in a 9 x 13 baking dish, top with parmesan and bake at 350 F for 35 to 40 minutes.

Upgrade canned cranberry sauce

(“5-ingredient cranberry sauce” courtesy of Sally’s Baking Addiction)

For this recipe assemble a 12 ounce bag of cranberries, fresh or frozen, an orange, 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar, 3/4 cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Zest and set aside about one teaspoon of orange zest, then juice the orange for 1/4 cup of orange juice (about half of the orange). Half a cup of cranberries should be set aside for the end.

Add the remaining cranberries to a pot with the water, orange juice and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until it simmers. Reduce to low-medium heat for about 15 minutes until the cranberries and liquid have reduced. Remove from heat and add the extra 1/2 cup of cranberries, orange zest and vanilla extract. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.

This is a respectable end product, but to really make this cranberry sauce shine try adding these ingredients.

While the sauce is simmering, add one apple and one pear, each peeled, cored and diced. For some extra depth of flavor add one teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg.

Pigs in a blanket are never a bad idea

(Recipe courtesy of The Kitchn)

Gather one egg, one teaspoon of water, a 12 or 14 ounce package of cocktail sausages, smokies or hot dogs and an 8 ounce can of crescent roll dough.

Separate the rolls at the perforated edges, then cut each triangle into three smaller triangles lengthwise for a total of 24. Place a sausage at the wide end of the dough triangle and roll towards the pointed edge. Whisk the egg and one teaspoon of water and brush over the rolls. Top with salt or everything bagel seasoning and bake at 375 F for 13 to 15 minutes.