Cheap side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner??!
Cheap side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner??
Any ideas?
Answers:
chips, beer.
Green Bean casserole with creamy soup and onion bits on top....mmmmmm!! delicious!!!
Actually, they're all cheap. Mashed potatoes (about 2 bucks for a 5-pound bag), stuffing (goes on sale for 99 cents a box), green beans (a buck or so a can), yams (2 or 3 bucks a can). All cheap. The turkey can be cheap too, if you get it when it's on sale.
If you want to spruce up a box of StoveTop, saute mushrooms, onion and celery, and add it to the stuffing. For the kicker, use real sage in it. If not, dried is fine.
mashed potatoes with butter
cream corn in can
carrots in can
peas in can
sweet potato pie
stove top stuffing
gravy in jar
pillsbury grands biscuits
Stove top stuffing
mashed potatoes
Kraft Macaroni and cheese in a box.
Stovetop stuffing, canned green beans and canned cranberry sauce. Can class them up by putting the stuffing (after mixing) into the turkey as usual. Adding some bottled italian dressing and tossing the green beans after heating and draining. And slice that cranberry stuff on the bias (diagonal) to make it look different and serve a slice of it with a slice of canned pineapple for each slice by alternating them on the serving plate. See, cheap but different and with a hint of special goodness. Hope this helps
green bean casserole!
Hmm lets see.. Green bean casserole, canned yams with marsh-mellows, deviled eggs, any type of green salad, corn on the cob, there's tons..
KFC mashed potaoes, cole slaw is also good. Or corn on the cob, boil and serve with butter. Also, buy Ritz crackers, and put small slices of ham or turkey, cream cheese, and a cherry tomato, on each.
See the comparison of examples of frugal Thanksgiving Dinner
TRADITIONAL MEAL,
WITHOUT BUDGET-TRADITIONAL MEAL WITH BUDGET
Item Cost Item Cost
Smoked Roast Turkey(12lb) $19.08 Frozen Roast Turkey(12lb) $11.88
Oyster Stuffing 13.30 Savvy Stuffing .73
Store Bought Giblet Gravy 7.56 Quick Basic Gravy 1.26
Fresh Cranberry Sauce 2.99 Cranberry Gelatin Ring 1.03
Pecan Candied Yams 4.75 Apple-Yam Casserole 1.79
Green Bean Casserole 7.29 Crisp Corn and Green Beans 2.38
Boxed Mashed Potatoes 1.57 Homemade Mashed Potatoes .93
Waldorf Salad 3.35 Apple Slaw 1.02
Crescent Rolls 1.99 Brown and Serve Rolls 1.29
Butter .25 Margarine .19
Pecan Pie 4.99 Pumpkin Pie 3.98
Wine 12.00 Cranberry Iced Tea 1.14
Total $79.12 Total $27.62
***Some prices are vary in your local stores.***
Easy but good recipe, Get Jiffy Cornbread Mix and combine it with creamed corn add some butter it it also with an egg. Pour it into a 8x11 pan and bake at 375F for 30-45mins. We live at 8,000ft. so I don't know exactly down at a lower elevation. Easy to make. For buns, get Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits. They are easy to throw in a pan and cook in less than 10 minutes. Pickle dishes are also easy (get easy Crunchy Dills from Nally, Gerkins, and green olives - if you are from the south pickled Okra works good too!) Good luck!!!
mashed potatoes.. lol
Real Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans w/ Bacon-Balsamic Vinaigrette
Fresh Buttered Carrots w/ Orange Zest
Homemade Cranberry Conserve/Compote
Rice Dressing
Cornbread Dressing
macaroni and cheese, bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn.
Rice R Ronie - the san fransico treat'
Velveta Shells and cheese - in a box
brown and serve rolls
Milos Sweet Tea in a jug
crannberry sauce, broccoli and cauliflower with cheese (personal favortie), devil (doubled) eggs, yams, rolls. That's what we have at my hosue.
I make hashbrown casserole, home made Mac& cheese, also canned butter carrots. Everything I cook is very unhealthy, and loaded with real butter, real cheese, grease, but everything is tastes so good!
Hash brown Casserole Recipe:
1 16 oz. bag of hash browns
1 16 oz. tub of sour cream
2 16 oz. shredded cheddar
1/2 stick of butter
1 can of French fried onions
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 package of real bacon bits or make your own
ok, mix frozen hash browns, sour cream, about 1/4 cheddar, the butter, and about 1/2 of the onions and 1/2 of the bacon bits, mix all of this up it will be sloppy but try and level the top of the casserole dish out. then after all of it is level then spread the rest of the cheese, onions, and bacon bits on top. bake at 350 till the cheese is brown and bubbly.
Home made mac and cheese is easy, but some people don't know how to make it so I am going to tell you. the ingredients are easy and cheap
1 2lb box of barilla, I choose these because they are very inexpensive and take the least amount of time to cook.
1 large box of Velveeta
3/4 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of butter
salt to taste
boil the macaroni, butter until soft and chewy, be sure to salt them while they are cooking. while these are cooking cut up the Velveeta into small cubes. When the macaroni are cooked drain and put back in the pot that they where boiled in, then add the milk, oh yea turn off the burner let the milk kind of steam, and then add the cheese and cover stirring occasionally. These are best if eaten hot, but they are also good eaten cold.
for the carrots
1 can of carrots
1 cup sugar
1 stick of butter
Add all carrots and butter do not drain the carrots let butter melt and then add the sugar stirring occasionally.
Creamed corn and carmelized carrots were always a big hit at my house, but of course mashed potatoes are incredibly cheap and stuffing - well, you don't have to add luxury ingredients like oysters or chestnuts to your stuffing. Chopped apples and a little dried sage mixed with wholemeal bread and eggs make a wonderful stuffing.
Added comment: I forgot to mention oven-carmelized onions. Quarter onions and put them in the roasting pan with the turkey, basting occasionally, or you can put them in a separate pan and baste with turkey roasting juices. Cook until tender. You can prissy these lovely, sweet, juicy onion quarters up at the end by topping them with a few breadcrumbs and browning them under the grill.
Make your own sweet potato's from scratch, they are cheap and taste a zillion times better. Brown sugar and marshmellows mmmm
Green bean casserole is quick easy and never enough.
When you make mashed potatoes, save out half, add relish, sliced eggs, sugar, and mustard for amish potato salad. Don't forget the gravy.
Deviled eggs are another quick and easy and never, ever enough.
Dinner rolls that rise are always a hit just remember to plan ahead and take them out 6 hours before you plan to have dinner. You need to make sure that you have plenty of jelly.
1) Savory chicken soup.
CAMPBELLs sells OODLES of NOODLES.
Prepare one or two cans of this soup according to the instructions on the label. Add finely diced boned-chicken (also comes in a can) and other herbs and spices out of your cupboard.
Serve with a couple of loaves of hot, crusty bread and white wine!
PUBLIX is a great place to find the crusty bread for about .99/loaf.
2) Fried sweet potatoes:
Cut two large sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch discs. Heat extra-virgin olive oil and butter in a skillet. Fry and fork-test the potatoes on each side until soft (but not falling apart). Drain on a paper-towel.
Serve hot!
3) Italian green beans.
To one or two cans of green beans, add a small red onion (coarsely chopped) and any italian salad dressing. Mix all ingredients well and chill.
Serve chilled!
4) Cheesy heirloom tomatoes and yellow squash:
Slice tomatoes and squash into discs. Salt and pepper the vegetables. Spray casserole dish with butter-flavored, non-stick cooking spray. Start with a layer of yellow squash. On top of that, add a layer of tomatoes...then a layer of grated, cheddar cheese (sharp). Keep building layers until you run out of vegetables. On top of the final layer of vegetables, add a generous layer of cheddar cheese mixed with slightly crushed garlic/butter-flavored croutons. Bake until the top is bubbly and golden brown.
Serve hot!
Hope Just Browsin' doesn't invite me for dinner. Everything out of a can.
After reading what the others eat I'll stay home with my home-made cornbread stuffing with sausage, dried cranberries and sage. Real mashed potatoes with butter and half and half, homemade cranberry relish with orange zest, butternut squash soup, fresh free range turkey with homemade giblet gravy. Don't forget sweet potatoes puree, fresh stringbeans almondine, brussels sprouts with caraway and olive oil. Desserts run the gamut from pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie, apple torte, italian cookies from the bakery along with fresh fruit and fennel.
DRESSING COOKES fairly quickly . All you need to do is put some butter in a pot and let it come to a boil and then add the dressing and let cook till soft and then cook ONLY A FEW MORE SECONDS AND THEN TURN OFF QUICKLY. PUT INTO A BOWL AND ENJOY. ALSO THOSE PUMPKIN PIES ARE FAIRLY QUICK THING TO FIX OVER NIGHT . THERE IS ALSO THOSE FAMOUS POTATOE SALADS AS WELL, Cook as you normally would and then add those pickles, eggs, onions, and paprika , and pepper to taste . SOME CORNBREAD... MMM NOW WE ARE GETTING HUNGRY HERE... AND HAVE TO WAIT AWHILE for the holidays have fun experimenting with those dishes.