Longhorn Fashions Blog: Thankgiving Favorites

By: Tessie

Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, family, friends and….football! All of these things come together to create the perfect holiday. Whether you spend it with your family or your friends that have become your family, it is a great day full of love and thanks. This will be my second year to spend it in Austin and I am looking forward to repeating some of my favorites from last year.

I hope you enjoy my list of Thanksgiving favorites below:

1. Turkey Trot

The Turkey Trot is such a fun way to start the day and allows you to go back for seconds and thirds of your favorite pie later in the day without any quilt. I did Turkey Trot in Dallas a few times with my friends growing up, so I was so happy to learn that Austin has Turkey Trot of their own. Thundercloud Subs puts on the Austin Trot and the proceeds go to Caritas of Austin. Founded in 1964, Caritas of Austin is a non-profit organization that serves 20,000 people who are homeless, the working poor and documented refugees in Travis County.

I did the Trot last year with two of my girlfriends and we loved seeing all the families who were out there running together. A lot of families did the 1 mile option with their pets and the number of adorable little children and pups dressed up as pilgrims and Indians made my day.

My friends and I did the 5 mile option and really enjoyed the course that goes around the downtown and central Austin area. I don’t run that often, so running it with my two girlfriends that do run regularly kept me going and I was proud of our time. What I really loved though was the feeling of being a part of such a big event that gives back to Austin community and Caritas of Austin. Everyone at the Trot was very friendly and so excited to be there. I will definitely be partaking in the Turkey Trot again this Thanksgiving!

2. Anything pumpkin!

I have been a huge fan of pumpkin pie since I was a wee little tot. Now it isn’t just pumpkin pie that I love, it is really anything with even a hint of pumpkin in it. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin pancakes – the options are endless!

The past couple of years I have made Pumpkin Oeey Gooey Cake and I can’t wait to make it again this year. It is really simple to make, but very rich and delicious. I sub gluten free cake mix for the regular yellow cake mix since I have to follow a gluten free diet, but either way it is mouth watering good!

Cake:

· 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix or gluten free yellow cake mix

· 1 egg

· 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

· 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

· 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

· 3 eggs

· 1 teaspoon vanilla

· 8 tablespoons butter, melted

· 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar

· 1 teaspoon cinnamon

· 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

3. Tailgating and football

Watching football is definitely the icing on top of the wonderful Thanksgiving cake. This year we are extra lucky because the Longhorns play in Austin and we get to attend the game! We will probably head to our tailgate promptly after eating our Thanksgiving meal. The tailgate will be a great way for our friends and their families to come together on this special Holiday. We are going to bring dessert to the tailgate and some leftovers for snacking. If the weather cools down, we will have to add hot apple cider to the list!

Although I will miss the TX vs A&M Thanksgiving tradition, I am excited to watch the horns play TCU at home and am looking forward to meeting some of the TCU fans. Since myself and some of our other friends are Dallas natives, I am sure we will also have the Cowboys game playing at the tailgate. Hopefully we will bring a football and even have a little game of our own, Friends style. All and all it should be a pretty awesome day!

4. Fall clothing

Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to wear your best fall outfit. Since we will be out and about from morning until after the game that evening, I am going to opt for jeans, a burnt orange top and riding boots. I will also carry a scarf in my purse in case it gets colder as the sun goes down.

The Thanksgiving outfit I am planning in my head is below! Although, I have to admit I do not own that Pippa bag (but am currently lusting over it) and there is no way I would ever spend that much on riding boots, but I can't find the Tahari camel colored riding boots that I scored at Marshall's online. They look pretty similar to the ones included below and I love the camel color with burnt orange and denim. A warm cashmere scarf, similar to the Burberry one, is also something on my splurge Christmas list.