So let me start with a bit about myself and my situation. My husband and I very recently uprooted with very little money, to move 3400+ km across the country with our pets. I began my new job, which was our reason for moving, 2 months ago. We are just starting to get caught up on some of our bills. We are a 40 hour drive away from all our family, but didn't want to miss out on our traditional thanksgiving dinner. So I decided to make it work on a budget. It is also worth mentioning that our apartment is small, and the kitchen less than stellar. It consists of a portable bar-type countertop, a microwave, a large toaster oven, and 2 electric burners. That's right, this is where I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Now, money has always been tight for us, so I have become somewhat of a guru when it comes to doing awesome things with little money. Also, keep in mind that I am cooking a meal for 2 - however, this has always been the type of meal that we cook for 2 with multiple servings (meaning you do NOT eat all day in anticipation of this meal), and then days of leftovers, so it really could feed quite a few more people on one serving each with little to no leftovers. So here goes! Here's the list: -- We brought a few spices with us when we moved, so that part's covered -- Red Potatoes: $3.00 -- Corn: $3.00 -- Bread: $2.00 -- Onions: $2.00 -- Butter, Corn Starch, Cheese, Cranberry Sauce, other misc: ~$8.00 -- The star of the show, a 10lb turkey at $0.99/lb: $10.00 Grand total: ~$28 I'll start with the stuffing, as that's my first thing to prep. I'm working on the stuffing while the turkey has been thawing in the sink all night. 1 loaf of bread (I normally like to use any stale bread that we've frozen over the previous months, but as we've just moved, that's not an option. Instead, I just bought a loaf of the cheapest white bread I could find - which at Sobeys was about $2.00). Another great alternative is apple pitas, as there's some cinnamon in those and it really adds to the flavours. English muffins or flavoured bagels work great too. 1 medium onion 2-3 apples, any variety pinch of salt 1 teaspoon of pepper 3-5 Tablespoons of poultry seasoning, to taste Cranberries are a wonderful thing to add, if you have any on hand, and some people like to add nuts such as pecans to their stuffing, but I'm one of those weird people who hates any kind of nut, so it's not included in my recipe. 1/3 cup of melted butter 1. Chop bread into fairly small cubes ~ 1cm x 1cm 2. Chop onion to desired size; I prefer as small as possible so you don't just get a mouthful of onion 3. Chop apple into cubes equal in size to onion 4. Mix together in large bowl 5. Mix in 1 Tbsp at a time of the poultry seasoning until it smells and tastes right. 6. Add salt and pepper 7. Melt the butter and pour it over the stuffing, mixing it in very well. At this point, I take the turkey out of the plastic, remove the giblets, neck, and stuff the turkey! Use your hands, or a spoon. I use a wooden spoon; don't stuff it in too tightly, or it will get soggy. Now, the fun part - the 10lb turkey, which is the smallest turkey I've ever cooked, just BARELY fit in the toaster oven! So I am not cooking it in a roasting pan because I don't have one small enough. I am cooking my turkey in a medium pot covered with tin foil. Before putting it in the 'oven', I make cuts in between the meat and skin, and coat the inside with Miracle Whip or butter - this time I used butter, then coated the outside with butter. Season your turkey: I put on some garlic powder and rosemary, as those are pretty much the only turkey-worthy spices I had on hand. Cover with tin foil, set the oven to convection at 375F, and wait it out...
