A MOROCCAN THANKSGIVING

Happy Friendsgiving!

This was my second Thanksgiving abroad so I knew I was going to need to get creative! All the CIEE teachers (the 7 of us) got together and each signed up to bring a dish or two. Here's what we were able to duplicate and what we had to alter a little.

For ease, (read: because none of us have figured out how to use our ovens) we just went ahead and bought a rotisserie chicken and it worked like a charm. The chicken came with bread, rice, au jus, and steamed veggies so we were able to knock out a couple different categories with that 90 MAD purchase.

For side dishes, we started with mashed potatoes (OBVIOUSLY!) which were so cheap and easy to make a big batch of. And we found some beef bacon which we were able to fry and top the mashed potatoes with.

We also made a corn, avocado, tomato and red onion salad diced and coated with a quick splash of red wine vinegar and olive oil and of course salt and pepper. So simple and so good!

Next on the menu was "baked" macaroni and cheese. Pasta is really cheap, good cheese is not. We were able to find some cheeses similar to the classic cheddar we all know and love which ended up working really well. The "baked" part of the mac and cheese was crushed up melba toast/bread crackers that I threw into a pan with some butter, garlic and spices to toast up and then we sprinkled it over the pans of pasta.

Next on the able was deviled eggs. Super easy, super cheap, and always a hit! That was followed by a tri-color bell pepper pasta salad 

For dessert, we had an assortment of chocolate covered fruits, deconstructed apple pie, and Oreo cheesecake balls. The apple pie had to be deconstructed because of the no oven situation so I basically made stewed apples on the stove top and then took some filo dough and cut it into 3 inch by 3 inch squares and made them thinner and cooked each one in a teflon pan on the stovetop. Then I just had to scoop some stewed apples onto the fluffy cooked dough and they were so good! The Oreo cheesecake balls were pretty easy too! And I'm pretty sure it was the only item on the table that was made with an actual recipe (listed below). We were able to find Philadelphia cream cheese at the French grocery store in town.

INGREDIENTS

 

14.3 ounce package of Oreos (not double stuffed or thins)

2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese

2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Put aside 12 whole Oreo cookies.

 

Crumble the rest using a blender or rolling pin (I left the cream in the cookies). Set aside 1/3 cup of crushed Oreos.

 

In a bowl combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar with beaters. Mix in the crushed Oreos until it is well combined.

 

Place 12 cupcake liners in a muffin tin. Add one oreo to the bottom of each cupcake liner.

 

Evenly scoop the cream cheese mixture into each liner, pressing down with a spoon so the mixture will surround the Oreo on the bottom. Sprinkle the 1/3 cup crushed cookies on top of the cheesecakes and press down so they will stay.

 

Freeze for 3 hours before serving.

(I filled the cups about 3/4 full - if you want them all the way full you will probably get about 9 instead of 12.)

 

Here was our final spread!