Frugal Mania

‘Tis not to be, this thirty dollar Thanksgiving dream of mine. My husband gently told me that he would not appreciate a glazed turkey ham and instead requests “the real thing”. My oldest two sons agree and are looking forward to ham. I also heard “Um, sure. A chicken will be fine instead of a turkey. I mean, it’s not traditional, but, yeah, that’s fine.” Oh, it is SO not fine! So, turkey it is. The ham and turkey alone (small ones, too, since I’m only feeding two adults and three aged 6 and under) will cost me $30! My new goal is somewhere around $60 now but the menu hasn’t been completely nailed down. I hope to do that today and then I’ll post it. I realize that a sixty dollar Thanksgiving is still not expensive if it includes everything from the meats to the desserts, but I’m a little bummed nonetheless. Ah, well, I have to admit that I will certainly enjoy the turkey and ham.

So, what would I have prepared if I only had $30 to spend? Here is the list:

One turkey ham ($2.50 at Walmart) with this glaze (all ingredients on hand–$0)
One whole chicken-3-4lbs ($4.00–Walmart) cooked in the crock pot with various herbs that are on hand.
Cornbread dressing (most ingredients on hand, I’d leave out the celery, use chicken thighs that I have already and purchase eggs–$1.50–the remaining half dozen could be used in other recipes that day. )
Stuffing–My father would die if he knew, but my stuffing comes from a box ($1.50–Great Value) and I add cranberries ($2.00) and pecans ($1.50)
Macaroni and Cheese–1 box of macaroni ($1.00), Cheddar cheese soup ($1.00), 1 lb Colby cheese ($3.50)
Sweet potato casserole–My husband likes this dish prepared without a lot of extras, so ($2.00) for the sweet potatoes and ($1.00) for the pecans, and the butter, vanilla, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and milk are all regular ingredients in my pantry and fridge.
Green beans with almonds–Frozen,($1.50)
Glazed carrots–carrots on hand, cooked in a sauce of brown sugar and butter.
Homemade bread–I always have the ingredients for homemade bread on hand to pop into my $7-at-the-thrift-store-bread-machine.
Pumpkin pie–Pie shell ($1.00), canned pumpkin ($1.50), other ingredients on hand.
Cherry cream cheese pie–Pie shell ($1.00), cream cheese ($1.00), cherry pie filling ($2.00)

Voila! A complete Thanksgiving meal for less than $30.00!

Turkey Talk!