What could be better than getting together with your whole family and spending the entire day eating? For me, it’s “friendsgiving,” where not only do I get to eat all day again, but this time, I get to do it with my best friends.

This event is a sacred tradition to many, but have no fear if your cooking skills are less than amazing. Here are five easy dishes you can bring to your next friendsgiving.

1. Pumpkin bread

Nothing says fall like warm pumpkin bread so this crowd pleaser is sure to be a hit with your hometown squad. Simply beat the butter, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Add eggs and pumpkin, and blend. Then, stir in the dry ingredients. Spread across three loaf pans and grease them well with cooking spray. The pans should be about ⅔ inch full. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and check them at 45 minutes, as oven baking times vary.

Ingredients:

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cloves

3 cups sugar

1 cup softened butter

4 eggs

1 can pumpkin (15 oz)

2 tsp baking soda

3 cups flour

1 ½ tsp salt

2) Baked macaroni and cheese

Since everyone likes macaroni and cheese and I’m sure you definitely know how to cook pasta, this dish is a breeze. Cook the pasta according to package directions and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour. Gradually stir in milk. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens and add in salt and pepper. Add cheese and stir until it melts. Stir this sauce into the cooked pasta and spoon it onto a greased baking pan. Top with bread crumbs and bake for 30 minutes. Makes 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:

½ package (8 oz) of elbow macaroni

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

2 ½ cups milk

½ tsp salt

⅛ tsp pepper

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup bread crumbs

3) Hot cider

To keep everyone warm and mix it up a little, hot cider is the perfect tasty beverage (and it can even be turned into a cocktail for those friends who are 21 and older). Simply put all the ingredients in a crockpot and set on low for two to eight hours.

Ingredients:

½ cup brown sugar

2 quarts cider

1 tsp whole allspice

1 ½ tsp whole cloves

2 sticks cinnamon

Orange slices

4) Pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes

Now it’s time for the most important part of the meal: dessert. With only a few ingredients, these cupcakes are super easy and you can get as creative as you want while decorating them.

Mix the ingredients together and pour them into a greased muffin pan. Bake at 350 degrees. Blend the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and whipped cream for the cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients:

Box of spice cake mix

1 can of pureed pumpkin

Chocolate chips

5) Cookie Bars

For any of your friends who are resisting the all-pumpkin-everything trend, these sweet, flavorful cookie bars should be the perfect answer to their prayers.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a 13-by-9-inch baking pan, melt the butter in the oven. Pour the graham cracker crumbs over the butter, followed by the condensed milk. Pour the remaining ingredients over this bottom layer and press it down with a fork. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and let cool.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

1 ½ cups of graham cracker crumbs

14 oz of sweetened condensed milk

2 cups of chocolate chips

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

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